


Sutures || Kakuzu

by FallenAmor



Series: Stitched [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 25,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26976361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenAmor/pseuds/FallenAmor
Summary: Sequel to Stitched || Kakuzu (Alternate Ending)Nozomi's bounty is complete, however her adventures with her bounty hunter haven't ended yet. When her pockets come up empty, our civilian has to jump over a new hurdle called debt. Meanwhile, Kakuzu and his partner are dispatched on another mission when they run into some unsightly problems, leaving Kakuzu and Nozomi to fend for themselves. Shouldn't having more hearts fill an empty shell?© Copyright 2020. FallenAmorDisclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the character or the tv show, movies, or anything associated to it. I just own my character and my story line.
Relationships: Kakuzu (Naruto)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Stitched [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1966141
Comments: 22
Kudos: 15





	1. Indebted

The door to the house was barred shut. The windows were all boarded up. A single note was taped to the door with the word ‘REPOSSESSED’ in big red letters. How could this have happened?

“This is where you live, Nozomi?” A silver haired male spoke, resting his arms behind his head. “Looks shitty to me.”

A female with sandy blond hair stared at the building in disbelief. To her, it hadn’t been long since she had left her home to find her father, so this didn’t seem right. She stepped closer to the house and tore off the note, staring down at the crumpled paper in her hands.

Her luck just seemed to be running out. She had a father who was using her body as a vessel to raise the dead, a brother who conspired to kill her, a bounty hunter and his partner that could separate her skin from her bones whenever they felt like it, and now she was being evicted from her home?

“I’m not sure what’s going on.” Nozomi turned around, looking back at the two males behind her. Hidan didn’t seem like he cared, however Kakuzu looked rather upset. Sharply turning on her heels to avoid his eye contact, she tossed the note to the side and started pulling on the planks of wood that were blocking her door frame. “But everything is in here, I swear. I just have to get this settled, then I can pay you for your services, Kakuzu-san.”

The wooden planks weren’t budging, but Nozomi could feel every splinter pressing against her skin. She tried digging her heels into the ground and using her foot as leverage against the door, but her upper arm strength proved to be no match for solid wood.

“Move aside.” A deep voice interrupted her. Glancing to her left, Nozomi looked up at Kakuzu and immediately let go, backing away from the door. In one swift kick, all of the planks of wood broke and the door flew off its hinges, breaking in half on the other side of the room. Imagining if the door was her face, Nozomi nearly had a heart attack. If everything didn’t go right now, she was going to be next.

The trio stepped inside the home and paused. The entire house was barren. All of the furniture was gone and all of the pictures and decorations had been stripped, leaving only the frame of the house in their place. Cautiously walking around, Nozomi couldn’t believe her eyes. Her family, her memories… everything was gone. With her eyes widening, she immediately ran up the stairs. Sure enough, everything was gone too - including the safe that she stored her savings in for the bounty. The plan to combine the savings she had with the funds from selling her home had completely gone out the window.

Memories of the past drifted around the blonde as she stood in what used to be her room. She used to sit in the small chair at her vanity and admire the only picture she had of her and her mother, dreaming of the things they would’ve done together if she were alive. Her dad used to come and wake her up for school every morning by tickling her when she was younger, telling her that laughter is the most important action of the day. She and Hideki would play fight in her room a lot since she had open space in the middle of her floor, which would often end up with her father yelling at the both of them to take it outside.

“So… Where’s the reward?” Hidan asked, breaking Nozomi out of her thoughts. She visibly paled as she realized the situation she was in - she was going to die today...

“W-Well, I…” The female started out shakily.

“Nozomi Shidou.” A loud voice called. Nozomi immediately jumped, immediately realizing who it was from their voice. The head of the Kirigakure Police Force, Misao Bushida, was here at her home. She began to run downstairs, but not before Kakuzu grabbed her wrist and yanked her back.

“Ow! You almost dislocated my wrist, you brute.” She hissed as she glared at the bounty hunter. “The door is busted, so they already know we’re here. I have to go down there.”

“Our business isn’t finished yet.” Kakuzu narrowed his eyes at her. “Don’t forget that you’re the only one here.”

Nozomi blinked. “The only one here? But you’re-” No sooner had she spoken, the two Akatsuki members disappeared from her sight and she gasped in shock. Just how fast were they and where did they even go?

“Nozomi Shidou. We know that you’re here.”

The female let out a deep breath out of anxiousness and walked down the stairs, meeting the police force head and two of his right hand officers at the doorway. Bowing her head in respect, she greeted them before offering them to come inside, however the head refused.

“This home is now property of Kirigakure. I must ask you to leave the premises at once.” Misao spoke. He was an older gentleman with a graying goatee. His hands were behind his back in a formal military stance, however Nozomi knew that he had the power to restrain her quickly regardless of where his hands were.

“You can’t do this.” Nozomi glared at him. “I’ve been living here for the past fifteen years with my father and brother without any issues. Where are my things? I need proof of repossession!”

“Miss Shidou, all of your belongings have been retrieved because they were used as collateral. Over the past fifteen years, the owner of this house has not paid any taxes and has owed money in gambling debts. Because we have not been able to locate him nor your brother, it is safe to assume that they are deceased and those debts have been transferred to you. Thus your home has been repossessed, unless you happen to know where your father is?”

Nozomi’s heart sank in her chest. Here she had thought that everything was going to be okay. Once she caught her father, she was going to be able to live a normal life again without worry, but now she was stuck in the middle of it all. At the mention of her father and brother, her mind wandered to the makeshift graves she had put together in the crater. With tears in her eyes, Nozomi shook her head. “No, I don’t know where he is.”

“Well, unfortunately, I’ll need you to leave the grounds.” The older man stated. “If you come with us, you can speak to the repayment sector.” Although he posed the statement as if it was an option, his demeanor gave off a totally different answer. If she refused, where was she going to go? Everyone in the force were trained shinobi, so she would be caught instantly.

Giving up, Nozomi nodded. “Okay, I’ll go.”

The right hand men apprehended the female and tied her wrists together with rope in front of her. Leading her out the house as if they were herding cattle by pulling on the end of the rope, Nozomi looked back at her home with a frown. For most of her life, she had lived in peace with her family; she had no idea what was going on in the background, but now she was paying the consequences for it.

Because her home was outside the Kirigakure limits, there was a long forested path on the side of the mountain that takes about fifteen minutes before they would reach the gates.

“Miss Shidou…” Five minutes into the walk, Misao stopped moving, causing everyone to stop behind him. Turning around, he approached Nozomi with a small smirk. “We had come to your home before, however you weren’t there; you actually didn’t return for a number of weeks. So… where were you all that time?”

A lump formed in the female’s throat as she couldn’t seem to find any words. Never had she been a good liar, so she was pretty sure the male could already see right through her. But, what was she supposed to tell him? She put a bounty out on her father’s head and traveled to a different county with two strangers to kill him and her brother? “I took a vacation…”

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow. “Was it with the two individuals that were also in the house with you just now?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nozomi looked away from him. She guessed it would make sense for a ninja to sense another ninja’s presence, but Kakuzu specifically told her that she was the only one at the house. How was she supposed to explain that?

“Really now, Miss Shidou… Do you really think it would be wise to lie to me?” Masoi smirked. He tilted her chin so she was looking in his eyes. “Withholding information from an officer, outstanding debt to Kirigakure, refusal to comply… You’re looking at some time, or other means of repayment.” He lowered his gaze. “We wouldn’t want anything to happen to you, now would we?”

A chill went down Nozomi’s spine as she stood in Masoi’s presence. She’d received warnings from her brother that the force was corrupted, however she had never experienced it first hand until now. “No..” She managed to squeak out, her voice barely managing a whisper.

Masoi smiled and took a step back from her, letting her chin go. He pulled his sword out from the holster on his side and pointed it to her neck, the flat side of the blade resting against her chin. “Now then, who was with you in the house?” Nozomi bit her lip to try and calm herself, but it was futile. After all Kakuzu and Hidan had done for her, there was no way she could speak against them. Whether she spoke up or not, she was still going to be in debt, so she kept quiet. 

When Masoi saw she was resisting, he let out a low laugh. “Why so quiet? I guess we’ll have to fix that.” Pulling the sword back, he thought to himself whether he wanted to start at her legs or her arms. Either way, they were far enough from the village where no one would be able to hear her. Deciding on the face, Masoi raised his sword and Nozomi braced for the attack.

Something warm splashed on her face and the blond immediately opened her eyes. In front of her was the head of the Kirigakure Police Force chief laying at her feet. His body was limp on the ground beside it. On both sides of her, the other officers that the chief had brought were lying in their own pools of blood. Seeing as the only warm liquid that could be on her face was Masoi’s blood and stepping back in sheer shock, Nozomi could feel her stomach churning and she immediately turned away, throwing up anything and everything she had left in her stomach.

“Watch it you little shit! Is that anyway to thank your savior?” Hidan jumped back from Nozomi to avoid getting her throw up all over his sandals. “You know, you’re lucky you aren’t that tall. I could’ve taken your head off too.” He grinned as he licked a drop of blood off of his scythe.

Nozomi turned away from Hidan to avoid losing the contents of her stomach again and nearly bumped into Kakuzu. Looking up at him, she could feel the dissatisfaction from him. She knew there was no use in running away from him, especially with her hands still tightly bound. “Well, thank you for saving me… but since you killed them, it’s only a matter of time before they send someone else out here.”

“Where’s the payment?” Kakuzu asked. His face was just as stoic as ever, but Nozomi knew the exact meaning behind those words. The ¥35,000,000 that he requested, the ¥35,000,000 that she agreed to… This was going to be her second encounter with death and she already knew who the victor was going to be.

“I, uh… You see…” The blond stumbled over her words as she struggled to get them out. “It’s gone.”


	2. Welcome To Servanthood

Kakuzu stared back at the sandy-blonde female in front of him that was trying very hard to avoid eye contact. It was quite understandable, but then again, it made no sense to him. The answer was simple - she had no money and could not pay him for his services. At least she was facing it somewhat head on. It would’ve been a pain if he had to play a mediocre game of hide-and-seek.

“I say we go ahead and kill her.” Hidan shrugged. “She’s already served her purpose.”

Nozomi’s eyes widened as she turned behind herself to look at the silver-headed male who didn’t seem to have a care in the world. “W-wait! You can’t kill me!” Her heartbeat was pounding in her chest as she was trying to think of what to say. There wasn’t much she could do about her home and belongings so what could she possibly do?

“And why not?” Kakuzu asked, slightly curious of what her answer would be. “We had an agreement and you are unable to keep your word.”

“Actually, we agreed on a price, but never the exact time that I would pay you.” Nozomi faced Kakuzu again. “All I said was that it would be after the bounty was complete-”

Suddenly, three red blades came into the female’s view and stopped mere centimeters from her neck. Nozomi let out a soft shriek of surprise and could feel her soul nearly leaving her body.

“I don’t think you realize the position you’re in, you little shit.” Hidan cocked his head to the side, raising an eyebrow in sick humor. He had appeared at the side of Nozomi, holding his scythe in front of her with the intent to sacrifice her like he had wanted when they had first met. “I think we could get a decent fucking price by selling your body parts at the black market.”

“P-Please! I’ll do anything!” Nozomi held her bound together wrists up to her chest as she pleaded. “I’ll be able to pay you, I swear!”

“What can you do?” Kakuzu stepped forward towards her. Too scared to move, Nozomi stayed in her spot and looked up at the male’s towering figure. So this was what it was like to be on the opposing side? Before, she had been getting along with him… well, she thought she was. Suddenly, everything was different.

“Well, I can…”

“You have no shinobi skills.” Kakuzu explained, pushing Hidan’s scythe out of the way as he finally stood directly in front of her. “You have no money, no home, and no family. So, let me ask you again. What can you do, Nozomi Shidou?”

With each sentence that he said, the blonde physically winced. Sure, everything he said was true, but it felt different when it was said aloud. She barely had any shinobi skills, she was evicted from her home, and all of her family members were deceased. What could she do? How could she be beneficial to him? 

“I can… Actually!” Nozomi gasped as a thought crossed her mind. “I know where my father hid some of his money. I can start with that, then work off the rest with whatever task you give me!” Once upon a time, Kakuzu had given her the ultimatum - die now or die later. Right now, anything was better than nothing.

“We don’t even have to take her to the black market.” Hidan rested his scythe against his shoulder. “I can fucking kill her right now.”

“Shut up.” Kakuzu warned his partner, not even bothering to look in his direction. Turning his attention back to Nozomi, he spoke again. “And how much is that?”

Nozomi thought to herself. She wasn’t sure how much her father had stored away but any amount could at least get her started. “I’m not sure, but I know it’s buried in the yard. I can take you with me.”

Hidan frowned as Kakuzu was entertaining the idea. Hadn’t they already done enough with the girl? Why were they still playing babysitter? This was the worst trip he had gone on yet.

A flash of chakra interrupted Hidan’s thoughts and he looked down at the ring that was on his finger. Perfect. Just perfect. Their leader was calling them back, which meant that they probably had a new task to complete. With a small smirk, he looked at his partner as he repositioned his hand on his scythe. All they needed to do was kill the girl now and they could be on their way.

“Well… looks like we need to get going.” Hidan let out a fake sigh. “What a shame and we can’t waste anymore time so… would you prefer a quick sacrifice with or without bloodshed?”

“She’s coming with us.” Kakuzu told a hold of Nozomi’s arm.

Nozomi looked at Kakuzu in shock. Hidan shared her expression, but it quickly formed into irritation as he stared down at the sand haired female. The two spoke at the same time, which further agitated the Jashinist.

“I’m going where?”

“She’s going where?”

Taking out a kunai, Kakuzu held it to Nozomi’s wrist and the female’s eyes widened. Last time, he gave her a final proposition when they were together like this.

“She’s coming with us.” The tall male repeated. With one swift move, he cut the ropes that were wrapped around her wrists. “The bounty isn’t over until payment is received. She knows better than to run away and she’ll be working off her debt indefinitely.”

Hidan stared at Kakuzu’s back in disbelief as he started walking. That money hungry bastard wasn’t keeping the girl around because she owed him a debt; he had grown fond of her. Of course, he knew better than to bring it up because he was never going to admit it.

Nozomi, cautiously eyeing the silver haired male, took a couple hesitant steps before running to catch up to Kakuzu’s stride. For now, she has escaped death. Regardless of if her home was repossessed or not, the Hidden Mist wouldn’t do anything with the land any time soon since it was outside of the village limits, so she had some time to find the buried money whenever they returned.

₪•₪•₪•₪•₪•₪

It was rainy and cold in Amegakure as the trio arrived. The heavy industrial accents in the village were a bit of a cultural shock to Nozomi, who had always been surrounded by woodlands and low-flying clouds. The journey had been long as they moved quickly through various countries, but it was fairly silent. Although she had traveled with them before, she still struggled to keep up with their pace so the only thing she could think of at the moment was laying down to take a nap.

Kakuzu led the group to one of the buildings that seemed to point daggers into the sky. Nozomi glanced around curiously as they walked inside. On the seventh floor at the end of the hallway, the ex-Taki nin opened the door to an apartment. It looked barely used and as Nozomi stepped inside, she wondered if he ever lived here.

“Stay here until I get back.” Kakuzu ordered as he stood in the doorway. “Don’t open the door for anyone.”

“I’m not a little kid…” Nozomi murmured to herself as she nodded in agreement of his instructions. Hidan narrowed his eyes at the female until the door was shut, leaving Nozomi alone by herself.

Walking around, Nozomi studied her surroundings, her previous fatigue fading to the back of her mind. There was a small kitchen and a common area, then off to the side was a bedroom with an attached bathroom; it was a basic one bedroom apartment. She figured this was probably what a shinobi’s home would look like - an empty place to lay your head between missions. Taking in a small breath, she let out a couple of sneezes. This was an empty place full of dust for sure.

Finding an old towel, the blond went to work cleaning up the apartment. Once the kitchen and common area were swept and dusted, she moved to the bedroom. It was just as barren as the previous spaces which left little to her imagination. What kind of person was Kakuzu-san? She knew he liked money and spent his free time taking bounties. He also saved her life and hasn’t killed her yet, so he didn’t seem like a bad person to her.

Opening one of the drawers to the single dresser on the wall, she noticed two different items inside - a grey headband and a black mask similar to the one Kakuzu always had on his face. Kakuzu usually wears a grey hood on his head, so maybe he wore that headband before he changed his style? Picking up the mask, Nozomi’s mind drifted back as she stared at it. She remembered sitting in a cave with the rain pouring down just like today. She had helped Kakuzu with a wound and they had a pleasant conversation before she had inquired about his mask. They had gotten close and she immediately blushed at the thought, placing the mask back in the drawer. Sheesh, what was she doing going through his personal things?

It felt like hours had passed after Nozomi was done. She had made her way back into the common area and sat down on the sofa after finding nothing else on her cleaning spree. When was Kakuzu going to come back for her? He didn’t even say where he was going. Her stomach let out a low grumble and she pulled her knees to her chest. There was nothing in the refrigerator, which didn’t matter because it wasn’t plugged in anyways, and the cabinets were empty. The rain had stopped almost an hour ago so maybe she could go out and try to find some food.

Checking to make sure she had everything, Nozomi left the apartment and put her cloak hood over her head. She had a little bit of money in her emergency pouch, so hopefully they accepted Kirigakure currency. From what she had heard in school, Amegakure was vastly diverse, so she should be okay.

The streets were bare as Nozomi walked alone. The sky was still overcast and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was something in the air that made her feel uneasy. Perhaps if she just kept her head down and walked fast, she’d be able to find some food and get back to Kakuzu’s apartment. A little ways down the street, she found a small fruit stand. Fortunately the man running it accepted her money, so she was able to buy a few apples to hold her over until Kakuzu returned.

As she walked back from where she came, Nozomi started to eat one of the apples. Something still didn’t feel right and she stood in her spot for a moment. It felt as if someone was watching her. Looking up, the blond glanced around until her eyes landed on the tallest building in the sky. There was a face connected to the side of the building with the tongue sticking out. Was there someone up there?

“My, my… Are you new here, little one?” A voice asked behind Nozomi. A chill went up the female’s spine as she slowly turned around in shock to see the head of a man that was half black and half white sticking out of the ground. “What do you know about the apartment that you walked out of earlier?”


	3. Negotiations

Nozomi stood in the middle of the concrete pathway, staring down at the head protruding out of the ground. The bits of apple left in her mouth started to taste like sandpaper as she quickly swallowed them. Where did this man come from and how did he know that she had come out of Kakuzu’s apartment? How long had he been watching her?

“I just recently moved here…” She answered cautiously, unable to mask the shock in her voice. “I should really go home now…” Taking a step back, she was able to head back to the apartment when she turned around, only to see the male standing in front of her. Surprised, she dropped her apples, the fruit aimlessly rolling away from her.

“How interesting.” The man smiled at her. His voice was teasing, but it only made her feel more uncomfortable. More of his body was showing this time - up to his torso. He was indeed half black and half white, and he had a plant-like structure enclosing him, similar to a venus fly trap opening. “But I already know who really lives there, so you must be lying.”

Kakuzu didn’t tell her she couldn’t leave, but it was most likely an unspoken rule. Unfortunately, she still didn’t know where he went or how long he was going to be gone. She also didn’t know anything about the people who lived here, which probably further confirmed the fact that she shouldn’t have left the apartment. The man in front of her didn’t seem like someone she could trust so she needed to escape somehow.

Pulling out a kunai from her emergency pouch, Nozomi held it in front of her with both hands. Unfortunately, her hands were shaking so she didn’t seem all that threatening but she slowly took a couple steps back to create some distance. “Who are you?”

“My apologies, I never introduced myself. My name is Zetsu.” The plant man grinned. “What are you going to do with a weapon like that, little girl?”

Narrowing her eyes, Nozomi prepared herself. Her brother had taught her some shinobi basics so she was going to use them to make a run for it. Discreetly, she unraveled part of the cloth on the kunai’s handle, which revealed part of an explosive tag. In one move, she threw the kunai at Zetsu’s head and took off running in the opposite direction, covering her ears with her hands while counting in her head.

Three…

Two…

One…

There was a loud explosion followed by a cloud of dark smoke. Hopefully it was enough for her to hide somewhere, then once the coast was clear, she could find her way back to Kakuzu’s apartment. Turning the corner to the right, Nozomi ran a little more before stopping behind one of the taller buildings to catch her breath. Her ears were still ringing from being so close to the explosion, but overall she was okay. Peeking around the corner, she scanned the area to see if the suspicious man had followed her.

“Now, that wasn’t nice…” A voice spoke up from over her shoulder. “I have to admit, that attack did hurt a little. If it wasn’t for my abilities, that probably would’ve been quite a burn.”

Nozomi’s eyes widened and she let out a shriek of surprise as she jumped away from Zetsu. Once again, he had reappeared out of nowhere. Choosing flight instead of fight, she ran back the way she had come.

“Wait, where are you going? Let’s play some more, little girl.” Zetsu called after her. “I usually end my games with a feast.”

Make a left, pass three buildings, then go up the stairs. Nozomi repeated these words to herself with every step she took. This was all her fault; all she had to do was follow directions, but she had gotten hungry. Now, she had to hurry back before she wouldn’t have a ‘next time’. Her lungs were burning from exhaustion, but she couldn’t stop now. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and no plant monster in sight, she quickly made her way up the flights of stairs to Kakuzu’s apartment.

There was a familiar person at the door to the apartment once she stepped into the hallway. Grateful, she ran over before placing her hands on her knees to catch her breath and speak at the same time. “Kakuzu-san! I’m...really sorry I left the apartment! I didn’t....open the door for anyone...I just got a little hungry and...I had remembered a fruit stand from before. Then...this weird plant person started....following me and I had to run, but…” Placing her hand on her chest, she looked up at Kakuzu with a smile. “I’m really glad that you’re back!”

Kakuzu looked down at the female for a moment before raising his hand and petting the top of her head tenderly. Nozomi blinked in shock of his actions, a faint blush forming across her cheeks. 

“What are you…?” The sandy blond asked shyly.

“I told you not to open the door, but I’m glad you’re okay, little girl.”

At that moment, Nozomi froze. Little...girl? She had been tricked and it was too late for her to try and make a run for it again. ‘Kakuzu’ melted into a large white mass that started to engulf her body. The female tried to scream but no sound seemed to come out. It felt like the life was being sucked out of her body and she started to feel lightheaded.

“Fighting it isn’t going to change anything. You should be going to sleep soon.” Zetsu said with a shrug as he appeared out of the ground in the hallway. Nozomi’s vision was starting to blur but she could make out the venus flytrap head easily. Now that she could see their whole body, she noticed that he was wearing the same cloak as Kakuzu and Hidan. Could Kakuzu really be affiliated with someone like this? What did he even want with her?

She tried to stay awake as long as possible, but her body started to give out on her. Soon enough, the hallway started to fade into darkness and she lost consciousness.

₪•₪•₪•₪•₪•₪

Nagato stood in front of his Akatsuki members with Konan at his side. As he proceeded with their meeting, he explained the success of their endeavors so far and their next steps. Having a fair amount of missions to hand out, he gave all of the teams their choice in which mission to choose.

“We’ll take the finance mission.” Kakuzu spoke first, causing his partner to scowl in distaste.

“You’re really fucking annoying.” Hidan rolled his eyes as everyone else started taking the leftover missions. Every chance this man had, he was going to choose money over everything. They were never able to do anything fun because ‘you can’t damage the merchandise’. What a bunch of bullshit.

“Must suck to suck, hm?” Deidara smirked as he and Sasori claimed an assassination mission.

Hidan turned to the blond, his hand itching to grab his scythe with a smile. “You know what? I’ve been waiting to kill a bitch like you for a while now.”

“I’d like to see you try, hm.” Deidara cocked his head up in confidence. “You’d probably make a great piece of art in my collection.”

“You’re dismissed.” Nagato spoke after watching the scene unfold. As everyone started leaving, he knew that everything was going according to plan. The bickering was only superficial as he knew it wouldn’t get in the way with the main purpose of the organization.

Kakuzu and Hidan were the last to leave. As they were headed to the exit, Zetsu appeared out of the ground with a grin. The ex-Taki nin narrowed his eyes as the obstacle in his way was blocking the door. It was obvious that there was some intent behind his actions. 

“What do you want?” Kakuzu stared down at Zetsu.

The latter simply kept smiling. “I figured I’d show you something before we move forward.” A white mass materialized in the middle of the room, similar to how Zetsu appeared. As it started to disappear, an unconscious body was left over. Glancing over, Kakuzu and Hidan saw the black cloak, then the sandy blond hair, immediately recognizing who it was.

Shit… Hidan placed his arms behind his head. She’d finally done it now.

Knowing they knew who it was, Zetsu walked towards Nagato and Konan. “I found a rat snooping around. Since she came out of your apartment, I thought it was best to confront you first.”

Yeah, and just so happen to have the leader around to witness as well, Kakuzu thought to himself in irritation. As he looked at the body, there was a faint chakra signature so she was still alive. She escaped death the first time, so hopefully she has that same luck this time around.

“What is the meaning of this?” Nagato asked Kakuzu, eyeing the unresponsive female on the ground. 

“I accepted a bounty from her in between missions. It turned out to be more than just a simple assassination, however it was beneficial in providing some interesting information on revivals.” Kakuzu explained, seeing no point in trying to come up with a lie. After all, he did nothing wrong. “Now she is in debt to me and is my servant.”

Nagato looked back at Kakuzu, uninterested in the female. “What information is that?”

“What does she know?” Konan asked as well.

“I have information on a jutsu that can bring back the dead using a host, as well as a couple other jutsu.” Kakuzu stood still, not wanting to raise any unnecessary suspicion if he tried to approach Nozomi’s body. “And as far as she’s concerned, my partner and I are simply bounty hunters. She’s a mere civilian with no knowledge of the Akatsuki. I’m sure you experienced that first hand when you subdued her.”

“Tch.” Zetsu tilted his head, stopping himself from rolling his eyes. It was true that she seemed to pose no threat physically, but she still had a mouth. “Say she were to figure it out though… This could be an unnecessary mole in the organization. It would be best to take care of the issue now.”

Hidan scoffed. “That’s a pretty fucking big assumption to put on a nobody like her.”

“Does she hold any value to you aside from being your servant?” Konan stared directly at Kakuzu.

Kakuzu paused as he thought about the question. Amidst finding the words to explain, his mind was quickly clouded with memories - their first meeting, their travels, their connection, the cave, the fight… He had grown used to her. No, that wasn’t it. He had grown used to his partner, but with her, it was different. He had grown acquainted with her. ‘Thank you, Kakuzu-san.’ Those words that were filled with so much emotion. He was needed by her, and unbeknownst to him, he needed her too.

“She has no family, no home, and no outstanding abilities.” Kakuzu continued to speak. “The intel gathered, however, could be pivotal in the completion of the mission my partner and I were assigned; I have already assessed the pros and cons. That is where I see her value. If she does anything suspicious, then I will kill her myself.” He doubted that it would ever have to come to that, but right now, he needed to say whatever would resolve the situation.

There was a moment of silence as the tension in the room rose. Kakuzu’s stubbornness and Hidan’s irritation faced off against Zetsu’s attempted manipulation. Konan looked at the girl once more before turning back to Nagato. If what Kakuzu was saying was true, then there was no need for lethal action against her.

“Fine.” Nagato finally spoke. “I will hold you to your word.”

“Huh?” Zetsu looked at the Akatsuki leader, puzzled. “What a surprising answer...”

Hidan smirked victoriously. On the outside, he was satisfied that they could go ahead and leave, but on the inside, he was relieved. This fucking brat better count her lucky stars. As for his partner, he already knew the man had a temper. He may have been holding it in now, but she better prepare herself. On the other hand, once all this Akatsuki shit was over with, Zetsu was going to be the first on his hit list.

Kakuzu nodded to Nagato and walked over, picking up Nozomi and throwing her over his shoulder. Thankfully, that went over well. If he had to lose her again, he wouldn’t have known what his next actions were. Heading back to his apartment with Hidan, Kakuzu let out a slow breath. Judging by the slight stir in her chakra, she would be waking up soon. He could already feel the agitation building in his mind as he tried to figure out why she would disobey his orders.


	4. Retributions

“Damn, it’s about time you got up.”

Nozomi slowly blinked her eyes as she started to come to. Where was she? The last she remembered, she had gone to get some apples, then everything was blurry. Moreover, her body felt heavy as she tried to sit up to no avail. Turning her head to the side, she noticed a familiar face sitting across from her. As her vision cleared up, her heart plummeted to her stomach as she realized who it was.

Hidan, who had been the first to speak, crossed his arms. “Damn, did you see a ghost?” After commenting on her paling face, he began to read the atmosphere in the room and decided it was his cue to leave, wanting to get some fresh air anyway. Once he left the apartment, the tension in the room only grew.

Finding some energy, Nozomi sat up and held her head with a small groan. She literally felt like shit but couldn’t remember why. Every time she thought about it, the headache only worsened.

“Repeat what I said when I left the apartment.” Kakuzu ordered, showing the female no sympathy. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he was highly upset with her.

Frowning, the blond let go of her head and twiddled her thumbs as she looked back at him. “Stay here until I get back and don’t open the door for anyone.”

“Was I not clear?”

“Well, yes… but I was feeling really hungry and you never said when you would come back so I didn’t see any harm in leaving to get a snack! Technically, I stayed in the village so-”

As soon as Nozomi saw Kakuzu’s eyes narrowed, she immediately stopped talking. Slowly, Kakuzu got up from his chair and approached the cowering female who was too scared to break his eye contact. Clutching the arm of the sofa with an immense grip, he leaned forward so he was inches away from her face. “You are to do everything I say when I say it, Nozomi.”

“Y-Yes, I’m sorry…” Nozomi squeaked out. Her heart was beating so fast in the moment, she couldn’t tell whether it was fear or excitement. Although she wished it could’ve been under better circumstances, he was so close to her that she could hear him breathing underneath his mask. That, mixed with his deep voice was more than enough to help regain the color back in her face and then some.

“You’re coming with me.” Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her off of the couch and took her outside. With a surprised gasp, she stumbled over her feet trying to match his pace.

Nozomi followed behind Kakuzu as they walked down the street, absentmindedly biting the inside of her cheek. The male hadn’t said a word to her since they left the apartment and she knew he was most likely still mad at her for not following directions. Although the situation was a bit fuzzy in her head, she had already apologized so she didn’t know why he was still so moody. How was she supposed to strike up a conversation in this awkward air?

After a few painfully quiet minutes of walking, the two reached their destination - a small marketplace. Vendors lined the sides of the street as an array of passer-bys frequented the stands. The female’s eyes lit up at the sight of fresh food and snacks. As she took a step forward, distracted by her hunger, she bumped into Kakuzu’s back.

“Sorry…again...” Nozomi mumbled as she looked down at her feet.

“We’re here to get the items on this list and nothing else, got it?” Kakuzu turned around so he was staring down at her as he produced a piece of paper from his pants pocket. Once she nodded in agreement, he turned around and started walking.

While Kakuzu shopped, Nozomi peered around from behind his body with a small pout. Apparently food was too much of an expense because the man in front of her was picking out the bare minimum. Sure, she’d had her fair share of shopping at markets but to not get any snacks or sweets was a crime. Every item she picked up, he either told her no or took out of her hands to put back, and he wouldn’t even let her see the shopping list.

“Why did you even take me with you if I can’t do anything?” Nozomi grumbled to herself.

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow at her comment as he added a package of fish to their growing bag of groceries and paid the vendor in cash. Why would he leave her in the apartment again when he couldn’t trust her to follow directions? “Make yourself useful then.” No sooner had the words escaped his mouth, he dropped the brown muslin bag in her arms before continuing on.

“That’s not what I meant!” The blond fumed as she adjusted the weight of the bag and followed him again. “If you’re still mad at me, then just tell me.” She was only met with silence and more items being dropped into the bag, which only angered her even more. 

By the end of their shopping, Nozomi’s arms felt like they were going to fall off and they still had to walk back to the apartment. Dragging her feet, she couldn’t help but glance at Kakuzu. Because of that mask and his eyes, she could never tell what he was thinking. Catching her gaze, the male spoke up.

“Do you need something?”

“No, I’m perfectly fine being your humble servant and carrying your bags.” She huffed.

Kakuzu refrained from rolling his eyes at her sarcasm. “They’re your bags too. The reason we’re on this little field trip was because you were hungry.”

“Thank you for the food...but I know you’re still mad at me.” 

“Think what you want.”

Unbeknownst to her, the male had secretly picked up a package of macarons to satisfy her sweets craving. He wouldn’t let her have them easily though; only those who work get paid.

₪•₪•₪•₪•₪•₪

“Get up.”

How can two simple words ruin everything so quickly?

Nozomi groaned softly as she curled into herself, hugging her cloak to her body. Unfortunately she had been banished to the servant’s quarters, aka the couch, after dinner last night and after constantly turning back and forth on two small couch cushions, she’d finally found a comfortable position. There was no way she was going to move until she felt better rested. Sure enough, the perpetrator dragged her by the back of her shirt, causing her to fall on the floor.

“What the hell!” Nozomi jerked awake, sharply looking up at her attacker. Her anger mellowed down to a simple glare as soon as she realized who it was - Kakuzu.

“Hurry up so we can go.” The male spoke again, showing no concern for the female before walking towards the door. With a dejected sigh, Nozomi got up and followed behind the man.

Today, Nozomi could say that she beat the sun as the break of dawn had yet to appear. She’d been on a crazy schedule with Kakuzu before for the bounty but this was a new level. Were they leaving already when they just got here? The journey wasn’t long as they left the village and stopped at a semi-open clearing in the surrounding forest.

“Finally! I was getting tired of fucking waiting.” A familiar voice spoke, coming out of the trees. Nozomi frowned as it was way too early for this kind of interaction. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Hidan emerge from the greenery and that was enough for her to cross her arms and turn to Kakuzu.

Nozomi covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. “It’s too early and cold to be out here.” 

“Your training begins now. Start running laps around the clearing.” Kakuzu instructed.

“...Huh?” Nozomi blinked, wondering if she heard him correctly. “Training? For what?”

Hidan smirked as he sat down in the grass, placing his scythe down beside him. “You almost fucking died yesterday. How the fuck did you expect to stick around this asshole? As a ghost?”

“I knew you were still mad!” Nozomi accused Kakuzu, ignoring her urge to take a jab at the silver-haired moron with them.

“Mad?” Hidan raised an eyebrow before bursting out in laughter. “He’s too fucking sweet on you. That bastard has a temper from the pits of hell. Damn near tries to kill me every day.”

“Shut up.” She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t mean for-”

“I won’t have an incompetent servant.” Kakuzu interrupted her, adamant with his words. “Lose the cloak and start running.” Seeing as this wasn’t up for discussion, Nozomi unbuttoned her cloak, dropping it on the ground next to Hidan and commenced her physical torture. ‘I’m not mad’, my ass.

Training started with a number of physical exercises to increase stamina. Having never done training like this before, Nozomi was barely holding onto the air in her lungs. Falling into the grass after the last workout, she laid on her back and looked up into the sky before covering her eyes with her arm. The sun’s rays were peeking through the trees and although it was still morning, she felt like she had been here forever.

“We’re moving on. Get up.” Kakuzu stood over her body.

“Can I get five minutes please before I die of exhaustion?” Nozomi whined as her body felt like jelly. She had a newfound appreciation for shinobi through her experience, however she didn’t expect to have that lifestyle thrown on her like this. Putting her arm down, she looked up at the male, only to have her focus shift elsewhere. Usually Kakuzu had on a cloak so his body was covered, but now that he removed it, she had a full view of his form fitting tank top and bare, muscular tanned arms, which revealed numerous stitchings. If they covered his arms, did that also mean they extended to his chest and other areas of his body? The more she imagined, the more she felt the heat building in her cheeks.

“You’re wasting my time.”

Nozomi snapped out of her thoughts and immediately sat up, looking away from him to hide her flushed face. At least this time she could blame it on the exercise. Once she stood up, Kakuzu had her practice stances and basic moves to defend herself from attacks. Being that she had no real combat experience, he at least knew she couldn’t regress from this lousy performance. Each move she made, he corrected, and whenever he got close to her to fix her physically, Nozomi could only pray that he couldn’t hear her heart beating out of her chest. She knew, for sure, the feeling was bittersweet whenever he moved away.

Once the sun was at its highest point in the sky, Kakuzu was ready to conclude their practice as he had other business to attend to. Handing Nozomi a handful of kunai, he told her to aim for the center of one of the trees so he could determine what else he needed to work on with her in their future sessions. Nozomi let out a sigh of relief, feeling more comfortable with this task because it was actually something she learned already from her brother. Setting a focal point, she chucked the tools at the base of her designated tree - one hitting her imaginary bullseye, three near the middle, and one more off to the right. Turning around, she grinned at Kakuzu, obviously proud of her accomplishment.

“Try it again with these.” Kakuzu handed her five shuriken after he retrieved the kunai. Thankfully she was decent with this so that crossed one chore off his list. For a civilian with no previous skill, she was a hard worker and a quick learner, when she wasn’t complaining. Of course, she would never get close to his level, but with this training, he wouldn’t have to worry about her being on her own.

Nozomi held the shuriken between her fingers, which was a slightly different feeling from using the kunai. Taking a chance, she threw the tool at a different tree this time. Two of them made it onto the tree, but very off center, and another two disappeared inside the forest.

“Damn…” Hidan whistled lowly, as he had just finished training himself. Being so focused on Kakuzu, she’d forgotten he was even there. “You can’t teach an old bitch new tricks.”

Clutching the last shuriken, Nozomi narrowed her eyes and turned on her heels, launching the metal tool at Hidan’s mouth. “Put a sock in it, jackass!”

₪•₪•₪•₪•₪•₪

Post Credits Scene: (Kakuzu and Nozomi before she wakes up!)

Kakuzu laid the unconscious female on his couch back at his apartment. After such an eventful day, he was highly irritated, more so because the woman in front of him was the main cause of his stress. As she laid, oblivious to his agitation, he found himself crouched down at her side. Despite the strength of his previous emotions, they seemed to falter in her presence. Using his hand, he brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face before brushing his thumb along the soft skin of her cheek.

He wished she would stop being so troublesome and stubborn, but at the same time, he enjoyed her change of pace in his life. Frustrations rose as he figured that he shouldn’t have left her alone, but he couldn’t take her along with him either. Why was he trying to hold on to something unnatural like affection when it wasn’t supposed to work for someone like him?

Nozomi nuzzled her cheek into the palm of his hand, a slight smile appearing across her slumbering features.

That was enough for his thoughts to change once again. As long as she didn’t disappear, then he could continue to selfishly want her.


	5. And Then There Were Two

“Again.”

Nozomi took in a deep breath, a layer of sweat covering her body, before brushing her foot into the air, aiming a sharp roundhouse kick at Kakuzu’s head. No sooner had he blocked it, she shifted her weight and successfully dodged a punch to her side. The two went back and forth before Kakuzu stopped the match and the female collapsed to the ground with a sigh of relief.

“How was that?” Nozomi looked up at Kakuzu as she fanned her face with her hand.

“It’s enough to get by.”

“My turn!” Hidan smirked as he charged head-first towards his partner. Nozomi scrambled to get out of the way as the two males exchanged hand-to-hand combat at a speed she couldn’t comprehend. She knew Kakuzu had been taking it easy on her but all she could do was stare in awe and disbelief at how far apart their skill sets really were.

It had been two weeks since she started her training sessions with Kakuzu. They were mandatory, but they were not free. Thankfully, there was an easy payment method though - cooking and cleaning in the apartment. In the beginning, she could barely get through half of the day, but now she had more energy to last longer and she learned new self-defense techniques. It was all thanks to Kakuzu, with a little bit of assistance from Hidan.

“Move the fuck out the way!”

Nozomi snapped out of her thoughts as she looked up. Hidan’s scythe was flying at full force towards her body. As if second nature, Nozomi pulled out two kunai and braced for the attack, seeing there was no way she could dodge it. 

Metal clashed with metal and Nozomi’s body slid back from the sheer force of the impact, but her feet never left the ground. At the last moment, Kakuzu grabbed the rope connected to Hidan’s scythe and yanked it so the obnoxious tool flew back at its master.

Once she was deemed safe, Nozomi lowered her kunai and looked back at the males in front of her. Hidan had a stupid smirk across his features and her eyes narrowed, automatically assuming he had done it on purpose. “What is your problem?!”

“Shit, that t-shirt really wasn’t doing you any justice.” He whistled lowly, his smirk growing wider by the second.

“Huh?” She raised an eyebrow in confusion. Looking down, Nozomi realized the front of her shirt had been shredded from the attack and her chest was exposed for everyone to see her baby blue polka dot bra. Horrified, she immediately screamed and crouched down to cover herself, her face red as a beet. Livid couldn’t describe how she was feeling at the moment. “Hidan, you jackass! When I get my hands on you, I’m gonna choke you out and hang you by your dick, you fucking pervert!”

“Damn.. Sounds exciting.” The silver haired male nodded in approval.

“Quit fucking around.” Kakuzu backhanded his partner in the face, instantly causing a nosebleed and a string of curse words to follow. Picking up his discarded cloak, he draped it over Nozomi’s shoulders, not sparing her a glance as he kept walking. “Let’s go. We’ll be dispatched soon.”

Later on, Nozomi sat in the bathtub, crossing her arms over her chest. A scowl escaped her lips as she thought of the previous spectacle in the forest. It was all too embarrassing and that silver-haired bastard was going to meet his demise by her hands. Sinking deeper into the suds, she whimpered softly to herself as she thought of Kakuzu’s reaction. He didn’t even look at her and she couldn’t tell whether that was good or bad. Maybe he was being a gentleman? He even offered her his cloak, which felt nice and warm. On the other hand… she could only think of the worst - that he didn’t like her.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and the doorknob twisted, causing the female to nearly slip as she tried to stand up and pull the shower curtain closed.

“It’s occupied!”

“You’ve been in there for over an hour. I’m leaving something to cover yourself with.” Kakuzu’s voice said from behind the door. His hand reached into the room and placed some clothes on the sink counter. “Hurry up.”

“O-Oh, thank you!” Nozomi called out to him, startled by his entrance.

Once the door closed, Nozomi waited a moment before getting out and drying off. Picking up the clothes, she recognized them as Kakuzu’s from when she was cleaning the apartment before. As she put them on, his old clothes hung off her small frame. Fortunately, this was nothing she couldn’t solve with some scissors and her sewing kit. Bringing the fabric to her nose, she took in a deep breath with a smile. They smelled just like him.

₪•₪•₪•₪•₪•₪

The trio walked along a dirt path in the Land of Fire. Whilst Kakuzu led the way, Nozomi was two steps behind him, keeping as much distance between herself and Hidan as she could. She would never forgive him for humiliating her like that and she had found herself spending time on formulating a plan to get him back.

The past week and a half, the group had been alternating between traveling on foot and jumping through the trees, Nozomi simply hanging on for the ride. Kakuzu said they needed to go to some kind of hunting station, then head for Yugakure, which automatically put Hidan in a sour mood for some reason. They didn’t give the female any details on the situation, but she figured from the sound of it that they were looking for a bounty.

“Stay here until I get back.” Kakuzu told Nozomi once they got near the station. Hidan stayed back as well as Kakuzu left out and disappeared into the tall shrubs.

“Don’t look at me or I’ll gouge your eyes out.” Nozomi crossed her arms as she sat down against a tree trunk, looking around at the dense forest. Instead of her previous outfit, she now had on a black turtleneck tank, with green pants that were rolled up and pinned into makeshift shorts, and a brown tie around belt.

“It was a fucking accident.” Hidan rolled his eyes as he leaned against the side of the same tree. “At least the old bastard finally got to see what he was dealing with.” 

Eyes widening, Nozomi immediately jumped up and shoved his chest with her hands, her face heating up. “Shut up!”

Hidan merely laughed at her embarrassed look before his face changed and he looked up. A group of three approached the two, hands up to show they weren’t a threat. Nozomi frowned as she switched her gaze from Hidan to them, her hands itching to grab her kunai in case something happened.

“Good afternoon. Are you the one they call Hidan?” One of the newcomers spoke, a male who looked to be in his late forties with a graying head and beard.

“Depends on who’s fucking asking.” Hidan cocked his head to the side with a grin, grabbing for his scythe.

The lead male kneeled down and bowed, signalling for his followers to do so as well. “My name is Hifumi. Lord Hidan, oh great leader, please teach us the way of Jashin.”

Nozomi and Hidan exchanged looks before the Jashinist stepped forward with a grin. Wanting to test their loyalty, Hidan offered his services in exchange for a sacrifice to his god. Hifumi nodded in agreeance and pulled out a dagger, stabbing his left-hand associate. Laughing maniacally, Hidan edged the man on as he carved Jashin’s name into the body as the victim screamed until the sound faded with his last breath.  
“Okay, I’ll teach you. If the greedy fuck can have a servant, then I can have a side project too.” Hidan placed his hands on his hips. Turning to Nozomi, who was trying her best not to regurgitate her breakfast, he took the female’s hand and pulled her along. “Run along. This shit’s not for you.”

Not bothering to argue with him, Nozomi left and went to find Kakuzu. Although not ideal, she was slowly starting to get used to dead bodies. Nothing would ever prepare her to see someone be mutilated in front of her eyes though. Pushing the thought out of her mind, she focused on locating her creditor.

₪•₪•₪•₪•₪•₪

“Look here, you old coot. I gave you all the information I have. You best scram while you can.”

Kakuzu, seeing this as the end of the conversation, turned away to leave. He’d gotten most of the information he needed on the bounty he was looking for anyway. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out the rest. Thumbing through his updated bingo book as he walked out of the Land of Fire bounty station, his gaze landed on a familiar picture before his eyes narrowed. Capture alive… Wanted for murder, outstanding debt, and embezzlement...?

“Hey there. What’s a cutie like you doing hanging around a place like this?”

The Akatsuki member closed his book and stuffed it in his pocket as he approached the stairs. At the bottom left of the platform were two male shinobi and a familiar female who never seemed to follow his directions. With a reluctant sigh, he began to make his descent.

“Leave her. We didn’t come here for no reason.”

“It’ll be fine if we just have a little fun first.”

“Wait… I think I’ve seen her before…”

Nozomi gasped in surprise as the hood of her cloak was thrown over her head. She stumbled over her feet as she was dragged away by her wrist from the two startled ninja. As she tried to fix her hood so she could see, her gaze fell on her kidnapper - Kakuzu.

“H-Hold on… Slow down!” The blond asked as she held onto his arm with her free hand. Once they were back into the forest, his pace slowed enough for her to finally fall in step with him.

“Why don’t you know how to follow directions?” Kakuzu asked her as he came to a stop, looking down at his troublesome baggage.

“I did! I sat with the jackass like you asked until these three people came and one of them killed the other and they were talking about some J-thing, then Hidan told me to go find you!” Nozomi rambled as she looked back up at him, matching his gaze. “Honestly, I don’t appreciate you assuming that I’m doing everything wrong. Why don’t you ever ask me for my side of the story?”

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes as he listened to what she said. “Three people? Who were they?”

“I’m not talking until you answer my question.” Nozomi narrowed her eyes as well, her stubbornness showing. Kakuzu, fed up with her annoying behavior, pulled her closer to him by her wrist.

“I don’t need to bother with unnecessary details. You didn’t follow my instructions, therefore you’re wrong.”

“What type of mentality is that?”

“One that was engraved in me a long time ago.” Kakuzu ended that side of the conversation as he pulled her along once again. “Your question has been answered, now answer mine.”

Nozomi wasn’t satisfied with his answer but let it go for now. This was the first time he had inferred anything about his past and it only opened Pandora’s box to the thousands of other questions that popped into her mind. As she walked alongside him, she thought of the three people that had approached them. The two background characters were plain, but the ring leader stood out to her. Tapping her chin with her free hand, she thought out loud. “Well… The man I assume was the leader was named Hifumi. His hair and beard were graying and, now that I think of it, he had a three-claw scar over his right eye like he was scratched by a small animal.”

Kakuzu took in the information with a slight nod. That matched the description of the bounty. If Hidan’s still with him, then everything should be according to plan.

Nozomi looked back at Kakuzu before covering her mouth to stifle a giggle.

“What’s so amusing?” He asked.

“This reminds me of when we were stitched together.” She grinned, holding up the wrist that he was still holding. 

Kakuzu looked down at the cheerful female at his side. “You complained the whole time.”

“Not the whole time!” Nozomi pouted as she lowered their arms. A small blush spread across her face as she looked down at the ground. “Even though it was a little frightening, it was still pretty fun...with you…” She murmured the last part under her breath, but he heard every word she said.

Suddenly, Kakuzu stopped and let out a deep sigh. Confused, Nozomi looked around before her eyes landed on the scene in front of them. Her stomach felt like it was turning inside out as she saw the trees and grass splattered with red and a large circle with an upside-down triangle on the ground, no doubt created with blood. There was a body in the middle with Hidan’s scythe sticking out of it, but no head.

“Oh my gosh…” Nozomi covered her mouth in shock. “They killed him…”


	6. Detours

“He’s not dead.”

“B-But… His head is missing!”

Kakuzu let go of Nozomi’s wrist and walked over to the gruesome scene. “Unfortunately it would take a lot more to get rid of that headache.” Honestly, it looked worse than it actually was. Inspecting the body more, he was thankful that it was a clean cut; that made stitching his head back on an easier process. Pulling the scythe out of the body, he took out a storage scroll and sealed the dead weight and weapon for easy transport.

Nozomi, on the other hand, was still in shock. How could he be so nonchalant about this? “It doesn’t make any sense.” She was trying to wrap her head around the bizarre thought that Hidan was still alive when everything sane clearly rejected the idea. “The body needs a brain and heart and… This is insane…”

“Let’s go. It’s better if you don’t try to understand the logic.” Kakuzu walked past her.

The female tilted her head as she stared at the blood symbol drawn in the grass. Would this have happened if she had stayed with Hidan like she was supposed to? Now he was dead, but not dead, and Kakuzu didn’t have his partner anymore. She couldn’t help but feel a little guilty, even though a small part of her was glad the pervert was out of the picture for a while..

Kakuzu, on the other hand, was satisfied that step one of the plan seemed to be a success. A couple of days ago that had gone over the plan but he figured his partner had ignored him as usual. Maybe the idiot had listened to him after all and decided to be useful.

FLASHBACK

Hidan slouched back in his chair as he sat in Kakuzu’s apartment. It was nearing midnight and this was honestly the last place he wanted to be right now; everything was always so fucking stuffy in here. The girl was currently sleeping, something he wanted to do at the moment, in his partner’s room with the door closed.

“The target is a man by the name of Hifumi, a shinobi and scientist from your home village.” Kakuzu started off. He opened his bingo book and held it up so Hidan could see the male’s picture.

The silver haired male rolled his eyes. “Should be quick then. That shithole is full of nothing but fucking pacifists.”

“Apparently he’s been looking for you and is interested in your… lackluster hobby.”

“Jashin-sama is not a fucking hobby. It’s my damn-”

“I don’t care.” Kakuzu interrupted him before he could go on a rant, causing the latter to scowl in distaste. When he could finally rip him to shreds and offer him up… that would be a damn good day. “I’m going to put out a tip with your location and you’re going to lure him in and take him to the rendezvous point. It doesn’t matter how you do it, but leave him recognizable.”

Hidan stood up from the table and headed to the door so he could retire for the night. Damn old bastard giving him all these fucking instructions, placing restrictions, and insulting his beliefs. Who the fuck did he think he was? Instead of doing all this bullshit, he needed to go and get laid. Maybe that would get the solid gold dick out his ass.

“Don’t screw this up.”

“Blah, blah, turn the bounty in and go home. I got it, fucking old bastard.”

END OF FLASHBACK

Kakuzu looked back and saw that his servant hadn’t moved from her spot. “Nozomi.”

She jumped in surprise at the sudden calling of her name and immediately turned away from the scene, running after Kakuzu. “I’m coming!”

₪•₪•₪•₪•₪•₪

“Do you know where they took Hidan’s head?” Nozomi asked as she held onto Kakuzu’s body. Kakuzu was jumping from limb to limb in the treetops at such a speed where she had to bury her head in his neck to avoid the wind.

“I have an idea.” Kakuzu responded. “They’ll be expecting us so we’ll meet them at the destination.”

It was nearing sun down as the two crossed the border of the Land of Fire and into the Land of Hot Water. Steam filled the air and Nozomi peeked over Kakuzu’s shoulder in awe as she spotted some of the hot springs. She’d read about this country in school and all of the tourist accounts said they were magical and had special healing properties, so she wanted to experience them in person.

There was a small traveler’s inn a short ways from where they stopped. Handing her some money, Kakuzu told Nozomi to go get them a room since she would raise less suspicion. The female obliged and set off in the warmed atmosphere. Once she got there, she noticed there was a small hot spring, most likely privately owned, which raised her excitement. It wasn’t Yugakure, but it was something!

The innkeeper handed Nozomi the key to her room and warned her to be safe since she was traveling by herself. Heading back into the forest to get Kakuzu, a pair of voices called out to her and she turned around.

Two men approached Nozomi as she was leaving the inn and she immediately recognized them as the ones who stopped her while she was outside the bounty station. It must have been a weird coincidence that they would meet again since Kakuzu would’ve said if they were being followed.

“Look who we have here! I was right; you are the girl in the picture!” The one with short, messy brown hair spoke with a sneer.

“There isn’t much on your head but anything’s better than nothing at this point.” His partner, who had equally messy navy blue hair, shrugged. “Stand still so we can get this over with, dollface.”

Nozomi furrowed her eyebrows, confused. There was a picture of her somewhere? Deciding that wasn’t the most important thing at the moment, she took off in the opposite direction of the two and ran deeper into the forest. Once she made it far enough away from the traveler’s inn, she turned around to see the navy haired male right behind her. He made a grab for her arm and she quickly took hold of his wrist and twisted it behind his back before stepping on the back of his leg to try and force him to the ground. The man’s partner stepped in and pulled Nozomi away. When she broke free, he swung on her and she ducked, landing a kick square in her attacker’s jaw.

“So there’s a little spice behind that sweet face of yours?” Brown smirked as he massaged his jaw. “Too bad it’s going to take a little more than that to take me and my partner out.”

This time, both of the males rushed at Nozomi at the same time. As she evaded them and tried to fight back, her clear lack of experience was starting to show. One of them managed to kick her in her side, which she knew was going to leave a bruise, but in return, she was able to knock out Brown.

“Guess it’s just me and you, dollface.” Navy rolled his shoulders back. Compared to her, he wasn’t all that hurt, which was more of a disadvantage to her. “What do you say you turn yourself in now and I’ll go easy on you?”

“That’s not an option for me.” The female held her side as she tried to stand up straight.

Navy shrugged. “Your loss. I’ll just hold back enough to keep you alive.” He took a step forward, only for both of his feet to dangle over the ground as he was suspended in the air by his neck. Gasping for air, the man struggled before he was thrown into a nearby tree where his partner laid.

“Kakuzu-san…” Nozomi’s eyes widened as she looked at the newcomer, who’s attention was solely focused on the semi-conscious prey to his side.

“Y-You can take the bounty, man! We don’t want it anymore!” Navy scrambled to his feet as he eyed the tall, glowering male and picked up Brown. No sooner did he have his partner secured on his back, he had taken off in a fright.

Kakuzu immediately turned away from the scene and walked over to Nozomi. There was an evident frown on his face as he saw her leaning towards her right side. The female, however, grinned at him, which caught him a little off-guard.

“Did you see me? I beat up a shinobi all by myself!” Nozomi looked up at him. “It felt exhilarating being chock-full of adrenaline and in the center of the fight, even though my knuckles and side hurt. On the bright side, I don’t think I broke anything!”

Judging by their skill level, she probably beat up a bandit that was posing as a low-level shinobi, but nonetheless, she defended herself which meant that their training hadn’t gone to waste. Deciding not to downplay her excitement for now, he settled on picking her up and carrying her back to the inn.

“Ow, ow, ow…” Nozomi groaned to herself as Kakuzu set her down inside their room.

“You need to take off the cloak and shirt.” He walked away to the small kitchenette before coming back with some ice. Squatting down, he unbuttoned her cloak and immediately proceeded to reach for the end of her shirt.

Nozomi blinked and immediately shook her head with a blush, pushing his hands away. “O-oh, it’s okay! I can do it myself.”

“Okay, then take it off.”

“H-How can I when you’re staring at me?”

“I’ve already seen you without a shirt, so you can stop being so modest.”

“Can you please unsee it…?” With a face red as a tomato, she wished she could die right at that moment. The culprit wasn’t there, but right now she was cursing his name to the grave. She whimpered quietly to herself as she started to pull the shirt over her head but her side hurt too much for her to move. Giving up with a small sigh, she looked at the male in front of her. “I need help…”

Smirking underneath his mask as she finally stopped being stubborn, Kakuzu helped her undress, which revealed a large purple bruise underneath her rib cage. He wrapped an ice pack to her side to reduce the swelling and told her not to move until he got back, leaving the room. Leaning back against the cool wall, Nozomi did as she was told and closed her eyes. Feeling tired, she dozed off and didn’t wake up until she heard the sudden opening of the door.

Kakuzu came back in his usual clothes minus his cloak. Everything looked familiar until her eyes traveled up to his head and she noticed his headpiece and mask were gone. He had shoulder length brown hair, which was a nice surprise since it contrasted her theory of him being bald. What intrigued her the most was his mouth, which featured stitches leading out from the corners of his mouth to his cheeks.

“Has the ice pack started to melt?” Kakuzu’s voice interrupted her thoughts. The stitches didn’t move with his mouth so she assumed it was safe to say that they were similar to the ones on his arms.

“Y-You took your mask off!” Nozomi spoke the obvious, ignoring his question.

“What about it?”

“Nothing, I just… Your face shape is nice, I mean handsome…” She rambled, her face heating up as she looked away. “I wasn’t expecting it to be off.”

“Well, it would be weird to keep it on to take a bath.” Kakuzu walked over to her and took off the ice pack. Nozomi held her breath as she tried not to make eye contact with him. She knew she couldn’t trust herself to think rationally with his face inches from hers. “Most people who see my whole face don’t live to remember it so now we’re even. You should go take a hot bath before your muscles get stiff.”

“Roger that!” She ignored any signs of pain she felt as she immediately rushed off to the bathroom.

₪•₪•₪•₪•₪•₪

Post Credits Scene: (Kakuzu and Nozomi later on that night!)

They were really going to sleep together. 

Voluntarily without the use of some weird jutsu.

In the same room. 

Alone. 

Nozomi stood in the doorway to the inn room, holding her futon in her arms. Kakuzu was already sitting with his futon folded out and was reading a book. It was his idea to get one room to save money and she had agreed to it, mostly because he was paying, but how was he so nonchalant about this?

“How long are you going to stand there?” Kakuzu spoke up. “Your body isn’t going to heal without rest.”

“Oh, right…” Nozomi murmured. She glanced at him warily before setting up her futon a little ways away from his. Placing an extra pillow as a barrier in between their beds, she quickly said good night and turned on her uninjured side so her back was facing him.

Later on, Kakuzu decided to go to bed and turned the lights out. He could hear Nozomi’s small, shallow breaths that indicated that she had fallen asleep. Replaying today’s events in his head, a small smile of amusement ghosted his lips. The woman beside him was predictable, yet every time he got comfortable, she found some way to keep him surprised. He wanted to be closer to her and thought the pillow barrier was a bit excessive considering how many times they’d slept in the same room before, however, he was going to respect her boundaries.

As he started to drift off, Nozomi’s sudden movement woke him up and he glanced over to see the female was now on her back with her head facing him. She let out a soft sigh as she settled back into her peaceful slumber. Turning onto his side to face her, he memorized her features, which were illuminated by the soft glow of the moon. Time was money, but he could always allow little detours like these.


	7. Merry Christmas! (Kakuzu x Nozomi AU One Shot)

Sunlight peeked through the cracks in the blinds of the apartment. It was a little past midday and Nozomi was lying upside down on the couch in the living room, her legs dangling off the back of the furniture. Absentmindedly, she popped another strawberry macaron in her mouth as she flipped a page of her romance book. Why did the main characters in the novel seem to have more of a love life than she did? Often, she found herself substituting their names for hers and Kakuzu’s to live out her fantasies. Giggling to herself at the thought, the female closed her book and sat up straight, swinging her legs to the floor.

Deciding to head out to the market, Nozomi walked over to the door to slip her sandals on. Her eyes caught onto the calendar and the big red circle she had scribbled in marker around today’s date - Christmas Eve. Kakuzu’s supposed to come home today! A bright smile consumed her face as she couldn’t wait to see him; it had been nearly a month since he had left. Knowing she needed to do something special on top of the holiday decorations she already had, she practically skipped out the house.

The blond ended up buying ingredients to make Kakuzu’s favorite food for dinner with a few other things to ‘set the mood’. After reading through all the romance novels she had collected, she finally had enough research to make a move. Since the time she had met the man, she’d given hints here and there so maybe she needed to take it up a notch now.

It was evening time once Nozomi was finished with the preparations. After lighting the candles in the center of the table, she took a step back and relished in all of her hard work. Dinner was prepared, the candles smelled great, and the apartment was just as festive as home. Running off, she got dressed in a black halter dress with a low, open back and brushed her hair.

Now all she had to do was wait for the surprise to unfold.

Minutes turned into hours as Nozomi sat at the table. The candles were halfway down their wicks so she blew them out to save them. Frowning, she opted to put the food away in the refrigerator so it wouldn’t spoil as she wondered how long it would be until Kakuzu came home. After all, it was already nearing midnight. Soft music played from the small radio she had turned on earlier and the melodies lulled her to sleep with her head in her arms.

It was a quarter past two in the morning when the door to the apartment opened. Kakuzu had been irritated with the fact that he could’ve come back a lot sooner if it hadn’t been for his idiot partner’s shenanigans, but the emotions were fleeting at his next sight. The drifting smell of pine and sugar immediately caught his attention and his eyes landed on a certain, sleeping female at the dining table.

She shouldn’t have waited up for him.

Glancing around the room, he looked at all of the decorations she had put up, including the glistening Christmas tree in the corner of the room. Price tags added up in his head, however he pushed them to the side as his eyes traveled back to Nozomi. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he had someone to come home to, or really the last time he ever thought of this little apartment as home. It was satisfying oddly enough.

As he took off his shoes and hung his cloak up, Nozomi stirred in her sleep and woke up with a yawn. Hazy eyes widening in realization and the blond jumped up from the table, stubbing her toe in the process. “Wel- Ow!” Trying to ignore the dull throb in her foot, she laughed off her embarrassment sheepishly. “Welcome home, Kakuzu-san.”

Kakuzu nodded in thanks and walked towards the table. “I see you decorated. It’s very festive.”

“Yeah! I always decorated the house for the holidays back home, so I decided to do it here too.” Nozomi grinned proudly as she thought of her work before she fiddled with her fingers nervously. “Do you like it? I tried not to go overboard but if you don’t like it, I can take it down.”

“You can keep them.” Kakuzu assured her.

Ecstatic, Nozomi ran up to him and grabbed his hands in hers, looking up at him with bright eyes. “Yay! Well, I made your favorite food for dinner if you’re hungry. Or, I can get the water started for you to take a bath. You’re probably pretty tired though, aren’t you?”

Truthfully, he was beat. The mission he had been sent on wasn’t hard, but dealing with Hidan for the whole month put a toll on him. Eyeing the kitchen, he noticed the different pots and pans on the drying rack. There was no use in letting the food go to waste and seeing how excited she looked, she probably had some other things planned too.

“I’ll take a shower and eat.”

Nozomi nodded and ran off to reprepare dinner, the ends of her dress nearly floating around her. Kakuzu watched her for a moment before leaving to wash up. As the hot water hit his body, he thought of how much life was in his apartment now and it all circled around the woman in the black dress. He’d spent so many holidays alone after he left his home village and usually it all involved sleeping and working. Nozomi, however, was working against that and was the perfect addition to his life. No matter how much she owed him, he would forever be in her debt.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Nozomi was almost done with the food. Technically, it was now Christmas Day so her plan could go into full effect. Originally, she wanted to have a little stay-in date night with dinner, dessert, then a little relaxation. After all, she’d dressed herself up to get in the mood. Finally, at exactly midnight, she was going to surprise him with a gift and maybe sneak in the mistletoe that her parents always had hanging over the front door at her old house. Who didn’t like a good old-fashioned Christmas kiss like the ones in her romance stories?

Once Kakuzu got out of the shower, he walked into the main room in regular clothes and sat down on the couch. Nozomi told him that she was finishing up and she would bring him some tea while he waited. Once she was able to finish the tea, she brought it over to him and saw him dozing off with his head propped against his palm. With a soft smile, she set the tea down on the coffee table and sat down next to him.

“You know, you never had a problem with telling me no before.” She laughed to herself as she brushed some loose strands of hair out of his face. “The food isn’t going anywhere so you can rest now.”

As she moved to stand up, Kakuzu grabbed her wrist to prevent her from leaving his side. Surprised, Nozomi looked at Kakuzu, whose eyes were still closed. With an amused expression, she complied and laid her head against his shoulder with her eyes closed as well, simply enjoying the moment.

“I know you’re not asleep, so Merry Christmas, Kakuzu-san.”

Kakuzu’s movements shifted and when Nozomi opened her eyes, his face was right in front of hers. Startled, Nozomi’s cheeks were dusted with red as she looked back at the male. Slowly, he leaned forward and immediately, she closed her eyes out of nervousness. This was it. It was weird, or was she making it weird? The romance books had made the ‘first kiss scene’ something magical and dreamy, yet here she was panicking. Everything felt normal at first but now she was thinking of the little things like did she smell good and was there anything on her face? Where was the mistletoe? Wasn’t it bad luck not to kiss under it?

Kakuzu watched Nozomi’s ever-changing expressions and raised an eyebrow out of confusion before settling on pressing his lips against her forehead. Seeing the stunned expression on her face once he was finished was satisfactory enough for him as he settled back in his spot on the couch.

“Merry Christmas, Nozomi.”

“Y-you…” Nozomi turned to look at Kakuzu as she touched her forehead with her free hand. “I thought you were going to kiss me on the lips!”

“That would be a separate fee.” Kakuzu shrugged with a small yawn.

“Fee?” She immediately sat up, the matter catching her full attention. “What kind of fee?”

“I’m not sure you’re prepared for that type of payment.”

Nozomi jumped up from the couch, standing over the male with her hand on her hip. “You shouldn’t underestimate me! I may not be able to pay with money, but my work ethic is unmatched!”

Looking away from her, Kakuzu stifled a chuckle. Why was she so gullible? If anyone had heard their conversation, they probably would’ve taken it the wrong way. Standing up himself, he picked her up and slung her body over his shoulder in one motion, causing the female to shriek in surprise. “Fine, since you’re so willing.”

“Like you already hadn’t made a decision.” Nozomi smirked, her comfortability settling back in.

Kakuzu rolled his eyes at her comment and headed towards his bed. Because of her antics, he wasn’t tired anymore but this he could tolerate. Perhaps the holidays would be good for him after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~
> 
> This was just a little Kakuzu x Nozomi one shot excerpt I was working on that I decided to publish as a Holiday thank you gift for all of your love and support for Sutures. This story would not be where it is today without you!
> 
> Thank you so much and I hope you're enjoying the holidays!
> 
> \- Mira


	8. Old Memories, Older Feelings

Nozomi looked in awe as she saw the lush greenery in front of her. If that wasn’t enough, there was a beautiful, majestic waterfall that flowed over the side of the cliff. When the sun caught the water droplets just right, a rainbow became visible “There’s really a hidden village in there? You must have traveled here before, huh?”

Kakuzu didn’t answer, which caused her to raise an eyebrow in confusion. Rather, he started walking again and Nozomi followed behind. There was a secret passageway behind the main waterfall that they entered, but instead of being greeted with darkness, there were lit torches along the walls.

“Wow, this is so cool. Is it like a maze or something?” Nozomi glanced around at their surroundings. “What’s the name of the village? Are we going to visit?”

“Just focus on keeping up.” He didn’t look at her. “You’re asking a lot of questions.”

Nozomi tilted her head. “Isn’t it normal to ask questions about a place you’ve never been before?”

The two turned a couple of corners in silence, Kakuzu looking for something and Nozomi simply in tow. Each hallway seemed to look exactly the same as the previous and, frankly, Nozomi was starting to get lost. It was good that Kakuzu seemed to know where he was going, but that also made her a little uneasy. He’s been really quiet and he refuses to say anything about the village.

“Kakuzu-san… Is this place your home village?”

Kakuzu stopped walking and glanced over at Nozomi. Although his gaze was still as impassive as ever, she could feel a hint of animosity towards her. Hopefully it was all just her imagination. Maybe it was to get her to stop talking, but the gears in her brain were already turning.

“I-I, uh… I was just thinking because you’ve been really quiet and purposefully not answering my questions about the village… But you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to!” Nozomi started to ramble as she laughed off her nervousness. Because it was hard to figure out what Kakuzu was thinking, she didn’t want to piss him off.

“Yes.”

The female’s eyes widened as she didn’t expect for him to answer her. “Huh?”

“The name of this place is Takigakure and the only way to enter the village is through this cave system behind the waterfall.” Kakuzu told her. “I lived here my entire life before I eventually left.”

Nozomi felt a mix of emotions. On one hand, she was happy that Kakuzu was opening up to her. Judging by his demeanor, he probably didn’t share his private life with others, so it made her giddy that he trusted her enough to tell her himself. On the other hand, however, her questions weren’t going to stop there. What was his life like in the village? What was his family like? Does he still have family there? Did he have any close friends?

“...Why did you end up leaving?” She decided to push the envelope and get straight to the point. “Does it have something to do with what you told me before? That if you don’t follow directions, then you’re wrong?”

“I’m not obligated to answer your questions.” Kakuzu’s voice was harsh as started walking again. “You’re the one that’s in debt, not me.”

Nozomi puffed out her cheeks in annoyance from his tone, but she held back her comments. Whatever happened, it was clear that he didn’t want to talk about it and she didn’t want to push him anymore than she already had. As she followed behind him, she strayed closer to the wall as she tried to make connections of his personal life in her head. Taking another step, part of the path shifted underneath her foot and a hatch opened in the wall. Smoke blew out of the opening and Nozomi was able to inhale a bit of it out of surprise before Kakuzu pulled her away. Immediately, she fell unconscious in Kakuzu’s arms.

₪•₪•₪•₪•₪•₪

They’d been walking for some time now and she was running a fever. Kakuzu frowned as he carried Nozomi over his shoulder. Since he had last been here, he knew the village had traps that were set to subdue outsiders so he should’ve been more careful. If the traps were the same, he knew how to fix the issue but he would need to do so quickly.

Kakuzu came across an underground waterfall in a small cavern. All of the water systems here were connected so this was perfect. Setting Nozomi’s body down against the cave wall by the water, he turned away to figure out how to get her to drink the water. Once she woke up, he could just order her to drink it; it’s not like she could tell him no anyway.

The sound of Nozomi stirring caused Kakuzu to focus his attention back onto her. Slowly, she opened her eyes, however they were shrouded in a daze. Her face was red from her increasing body heat, but the moment her eyes met his… It was as if she had seen a ghost. Nozomi immediately stood up and scurried away from a confused Kakuzu, running away from the water and deeper into the caves. 

“Get away from me!” She screamed.

The male was taken aback by her sudden outburst before snapping out of it and following after her. Did the smoke mix up her thoughts? Who did she think he was? “Where are you going?”

“I said get back! I know your true identity!” Nozomi reached into her pouch and threw an explosive kunai at him, with very accurate aim if he might add - another perk from their training. Of course, it wasn’t anything he couldn’t dodge completely unscathed. Seeing as her attack was futile, she turned around a corner and kept moving. “You said that you would kill me! I heard you say it!”

“And who do you think I am?” He could’ve caught her easily, but he was intrigued now. Clearly, she wasn’t in her right mind, so she must be hallucinating.

“I know who you are! You’re the weird plant person!” Nozomi looked around to see where she could evade him next. It was as if his voice was surrounding her as it echoed off the cave walls. When she looked back, she didn’t see him anymore, but that may have been because he could disappear in the ground like the last time she saw him. Memories of their previous interaction flooded her mind and she thought of the voices she could hear while she was unconscious during that time.

Not watching where she was going, Nozomi ran into a couple of Takigakure jonin who were surveilling the area. “Please help me! He’s trying to kill me!” Seeing the woman in hysterics, the men were highly puzzled by her actions, especially because they didn’t see anyone else there.

“Ma’am, please calm down.” One of the shinobi spoke. “How did you get in here?”

“You can’t let him get me!” Nozomi tried to catch her breath. “Kakuzu-san is going to come save me.”

The two jonin exchanged looks of bewilderment. “Kakuzu? You mean the Kaku-“

Before the two could finish talking, tentacles shot out and impaled the two shinobi, instantly killing them. Kakuzu appeared behind Nozomi and the female turned around, looking up at the man in horror. Even though she was hallucinating, he felt a sense of discomfort from her gaze. Mentally shaking away his thoughts, he slung her over his shoulder and headed back to the waterfall.

“Let go of me!” She beat her fists against his back. “Kakuzu-san!”

“You’re loud and I’m right here.”

“You can’t fool me again. I know you’re the weird plant guy.”

Kakuzu didn’t answer her as he kept walking. The sooner he fixed this problem, the sooner they could meet up with Hidan and get out of here. It wouldn’t be long before someone noticed those two shinobi were unresponsive.

“How are you and Kakuzu-san connected? He’s nothing like you.” Nozomi continued to talk. “I don’t know who this Akatsuki person is or what they do, but I would never intentionally screw him over. I owe Kakuzu-san my life and I’ll do anything for him.” So she could hear everything when she was unconscious…

Suddenly, Kakuzu stopped walking. “You really believe in him that much?”

“He’s never done anything to make me not trust him.” Nozomi answered firmly.

Kakuzu smirked to himself in amusement from her answer. Despite her hallucinations, some things never change. “You need to drink this water now. Are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?”

Nozomi tried to push off of him. “The only way I’m drinking it is if Kakuzu-san told me to.”

The hard way it is. In one movement, he tossed her in the lake and Nozomi started to flail in the water. “Help! You have to- Help!” She was moving erratically but nothing was keeping her afloat. Her head bobbed in and out of the water before she completely disappeared. As she started to sink, she felt her last breaths leaving her body.

Seeing as she hadn’t resurfaced, Kakuzu immediately jumped into the lake and pulled Nozomi out. Shit… How was he supposed to know she couldn’t swim? She wasn’t moving, which was very unsettling. He was trying to keep her by his side, yet every action he took seemed to do nothing but push her away. She couldn’t have drank that much water, so maybe she would be okay.

Laying her on her back, he pulled his mask off and pressed his lips against hers. One round of resuscitation turned into two, but she wasn’t responding. She couldn’t give up; she had to live. After everything they had done together, he couldn’t be the reason why she was no longer here. Especially considering what she was to him. Leaning towards her a third time, their lips connected once more. Please, Nozomi…

Nozomi’s eyes opened and the sight in front of her was enough for her to consider passing out again. Kakuzu’s lips were against hers and, once realization hit, she gave in and kissed him back. The male immediately pulled away from her, shocked by her actions but grateful that she was alive. Nozomi, on the other hand, sat up and started coughing up the remnants of water in her lungs. The heat gathering in her cheeks had already given her away.

“How long were you awake?” Kakuzu asked, as he put his mask back on. Just like that, he was back to his usual self, but it was obvious he was trying to hide his own face.

Nozomi looked away from him once she was okay, knowing he wasn’t going to like her answer. “The whole time…”

The male’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance. “So you faked it?” When she didn’t answer, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him. “I thought you said you weren’t going to ‘screw me over’?”

“I-I was just giving you a taste of your own medicine!” Nozomi cleared her throat, trying to sound more confident than she actually was. He was trying to have a serious conversation but they were just kissing moments ago. Something like that wasn’t going to leave her brain anytime soon. “This doesn’t gloss over the fact that you still tried to kill me!”

“You’re still alive.”

“I nearly drowned though! I can’t swim.”

“You look fine to me. How can you not swim, but you used to live in a place surrounded by water?”

“You’re the one in the wrong, not me!”

Kakuzu let go of Nozomi and stood up. His clothes were soaked, but it wasn’t all for naught. The lingering feeling of her soft lips against his was a memory he would hold onto, as well as something he wouldn’t mind repeating. Still annoyed by her actions, he made sure his voice showed her that. “We’re leaving.”

“Kakuzu-san…” Nozomi stood up, wringing out the ends of her shorts and shirt. “Would you ever intentionally kill me? I remember hearing your voice saying if I did anything suspicious, you wouldn’t hesitate to kill me… I don’t know what more I can do or say to show you how much I owe you and that I would never-“

“Don’t bother asking a question like that. You’re worth more to me than just your debt, Nozomi Shidou.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~
> 
> Thank you so much for reading Sutures and for the kudos and comments! Attempting to write canon Kakuzu is hard, but I love it lol.
> 
> I hope you're having a great day and staying safe!
> 
> Until next part,  
> Mira


	9. Let's Make Amends

She was happy.

No, that was understatement.

She was giddy, delighted, content… Despite what they were doing and the situation they were in, the feeling that she was experiencing, she hoped it would never end. Her clothes were damp though and there was a cool draft flowing through the cave system so she hoped she didn’t get sick later. Peeking out of the corner of her eye, she watched the tall male beside her. His clothes were damp too, but she was pretty sure he wasn’t prone to sickness like she was. Suddenly, he turned his head away from her as he let out a sneeze.

Okay, maybe she stood corrected.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“No reason!” She grinned as she clasped her hands in front of her.

She was so obvious about everything. He sighed to himself as they kept walking. Hopefully Hidan was where they had discussed because he was getting agitated with the scenery. Memories of himself walking these same caves to and from missions flooded his mind and he would be more content if they would just go away.

A familiar chakra signature caught his attention and immediately, he grabbed Nozomi’s wrist and pulled her to him as he peeked around the corner of the cave way they were in. Luckily, they were in the shadows so no one could see them. In front of them was an opening to another small lake with a small waterfall running into it. The water was slightly different from the others, having more of a white color versus the normal blue.

“Is this the right place?” A deep voice spoke, one Nozomi automatically recognized. It was the old man with the three-scarred eye from before.

“You calling me a fucking liar?” Another familiar voice, unmistakably Hidan’s, spit out. “There’s only one fucking place named the Spring of Toyo no Kuni.”

Nozomi peeked around the corner as well. It was just the lead scientist, Hifumi, and Hidan’s head. Frowning, she wondered where his lackeys were. Surely they didn’t leave him and they weren’t there when she and Kakuzu found Hidan’s body.

Hifumi tossed Hidan’s head to the side as he relished in the feeling of sheer glee. This was it. This was the answer to all of his prayers. “At last! I have found the Spring of Immortality! If I can harvest this kind of phenomena as my own…” He rubbed his palms together as he began to imagine the possibilities.

“Watch the rocks, jackass!” Hidan yelled as his head rolled along the cave floor and stopped against the wall. “Hey, fuck shit. There’s something I forgot to tell you about that piece of shit waterhole you’re standing by.”

Hifumi, who was too busy taking samples of the water in tubes, didn’t pay the male any mind. Once he collected enough, he immediately started to drink from the fountain, relishing in gulp after gulp.

Nozomi turned back to Kakuzu in awe. “The Spring of Toyo no Kuni? Something like that really exists?”

“The idiot made it up.” Kakuzu shook his head.

Looking away from him in embarrassment, she turned her head back to the scene in front of him. A spring of immortality does sound like a fairy tale now that she thought of it. Why was she so gullible? As she watched Hifumi, something didn’t seem right as the man dropped to his knees in agonizing pain. Finally, his lackeys started to appear. Nozomi watched in shock as it looked like the man’s veins were nearly bulging out of his body.

“Yes… Yes! This is what I was waiting for!” Hifumi started to laugh maniacally. “The power! It’s surging through my body!”

“Well, shit… That was unexpected.” Hidan whistled lowly. “That was just supposed to be some random ass fountain.”

Kakuzu rolled his eyes in annoyance and turned to Nozomi. Her eyes were fixated on Hifumi so he pulled her back into the hallway and tilted her chin so she was looking up at him. “On my signal, you’re going to go retrieve Hidan’s head and sew it back onto his body. I’ll handle the rest.”

Nozomi’s eyes widened. “You want me to intentionally run out on the battlefield?” She looked out of the corner of her eye at Hifumi’s growing power lust before glancing back at Kakuzu. If he was telling her to do this, then she should trust him. After all, he’s never purposefully tried to cause her harm before, besides the lake earlier, but that was just an exception. Nodding in agreement, the two went back to the corner. On his signal, a smoke bomb exploded in the center of the room and the female made a run for it.

“Yeah! Let the fucking party begin!” Hidan cheered, itching to join in the festivities. Nozomi followed the sound of his voice and grabbed his head before dashing back towards the hallway. She let out a small shriek as she ducked, barely missing a few senbon needles that were flying towards her head. The smoke was starting to get thicker and her vision was getting smaller and smaller. “Can you hold my head steady, bitch? I can’t fucking see anything!”

“I should let you drown in the lake.” Nozomi rolled her eyes once they started moving. Just because she was tasked with helping him didn’t mean that she forgave him for his wrongdoings. She nearly ran into the wall because of all the smoke, but was able to walk alongside it and feel her way back to the hallway.

“You should be fucking praising me.” Hidan sneered. “I got you the damn golden ticket. Did you get to fuck the old bastard yet?”

Nozomi’s eyes nearly stuck out of their sockets as she dropped Hidan’s head on the ground. Hidan let out a string of curses as he barely avoided a rock getting stuck up his nostril. Placing her hands on her hips, she glared at him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Fucking bitch! I got my head sliced off my damn shoulders for you and this is how you fucking repay me?” Hidan yelled at her. “I’m never helping your ass again! Put my head on my fucking body.”

Nozomi looked at Hidan’s body that Kakuzu left leaning against the wall before looking back at Hidan’s head. This bastard has been rude to her the entire time and ruined her clothes out of pure entertainment, but now he wanted to boss her around? In his position, he couldn’t do anything to her so she was going to take full advantage. Crossing her arms over her chest, the female decided to take her stance. “No.”

“The hell did you just say to me?”

“I’m not going to help you until you apologize to me.”

Hidan looked up at her before he burst into laughter. “Wow, isn’t this some shit… You better put me back together right fucking now or I swear on Jashin I’ll-”

“I’ve been nothing but nice to you since we met! I’ve never tried to sabotage you or hurt you-”

“Cause you fucking can’t.”

“-or ugh! That’s the type of bullshit I’m talking about! I never asked you to stick your nose into anything! What do you want from me? A thank you?”

Hidan watched her eyebrow twitch in annoyance before a smirk found its way across his lips. “It’s your fucking time of the month, isn’t it?”

Fed up, Nozomi grabbed a fistful of his hair and dragged his head face first across the cave floor before sitting it on top of his body. Quietly, she pulled out her sewing kit and got to work, murmuring under her breath. “Just forget it. You never take me seriously anyway and I don’t expect you to.”

Hidan spit the loose dirt out of his mouth as he listened to her. It wasn’t that he never took her seriously; she was just fun to mess with and an easy target. If he joked around with the old bastard like this, he would be buried six feet under and kicking it with the worms for all eternity. Once she hit a nerve, he flinched. “Ow, take it easy with that damn thing.” Once he started feeling his fingers again, he smoothed his hair back in its original slickback.

“Damn it… I’m sorry.”

Nozomi stopped what she was doing and looked at Hidan, who was avoiding eye contact with her. “...What did you say?”

“I said I’m fucking sorry alright? That doesn’t mean I won’t fucking talk shit anymore though. I’m just talking about the stupid fucking t-shirt.” He glanced at the female as the tip of his ears burned red. “The fuck are you looking at? Hurry up!”

Astonished by his apology, Nozomi blinked before nodding and quickening her pace. A smile tugged on the ends of her lips as she thought about the whole encounter. It was really the small victories that made an impact. He definitely wasn’t going to change for her, that was evident, but the apology made her feel a little better.

Once she finished, Hidan immediately stood up and cracked his neck. He had to admit, she did a pretty decent job since his head was on straight. Grabbing his scythe, he was ready to go out and make some sacrifices. By the time he turned around, the smoke had cleared and the lackeys were laying over top of each other, dead. Kakuzu entered the hallway with Hifumi’s dead body slung over his shoulder.

“Fucking old bastard! You never let me have any fucking fun!” Hidan jabbed his finger at him.

“You’re done already?” Nozomi asked. “I thought the fight was going to be longer… He looked like he was going to be tough.”

“He was hallucinating. Overall, an easy target.” Kakuzu walked past them. “Let’s go.” Nozomi nodded and immediately followed after him. Grumbling to himself, Hidan crossed his arms and started walking as well.

₪•₪•₪•₪•₪•₪

Two members of the Akatsuki walked together down a dirt path along the border of the Land of Fire, their straw hats shading their faces from the sun peeking through the gaps in the tree leaves. They had just finished their mission, so they were free until the next time their leader called on them.

“Where are we off to now?” The taller one out of the two asked. “Are we just going to sit around again?”

“If you have something else you’d rather do, I won’t object to it.” The other answered back as they continued. His partner smirked, revealing an interesting set of pearly whites.

The sound of laughter made the two stop in their tracks. A few feet away from them, a head and torso rose up out of the ground. “Looking for something to do, are we?”

“I believe we already have plans.” The tall male lifted his hat up, revealing his blue skin. “It’s free time.”

“Not anymore.” The newcomer responded. “Leader-sama has a new assignment for you, but this time the target needs to be captured alive. She’ll be simple and easy to catch when she’s by herself and she owes some important people so try not to damage the merchandise.” With that, he disappeared into the earth leaving a piece of paper in his place.

The shorter male picked up the paper and analyzed it. It looked like it was ripped out of a bingo book. On one side was a picture of a female with short blond hair and blue eyes. Wanted for murder, embezzlement, and outstanding debt… Well, the story lined up there. On the back was a lackluster drawing of a map with a circle, no doubt showing where to find her. She was a lot closer than he thought. A note at the bottom said she would lead them where they needed to go.

“Hey, Itachi… Are we really doing this?”

“Leader’s orders.”


	10. The Sky and The Sea

Nozomi and Hidan stood outside the Land of Fire Bounty Station. It didn’t take long for Kakuzu to return with the funds from the bounty, along with a seal of alliance from their employers. Now that their bounty was done, she wondered what they would be doing next. Were they going to return to Amegakure?

“Hey, blondie! Let’s fucking go!”

“Coming!” Snapping out of her thoughts, Nozomi looked to see Hidan and Kakuzu already walking away from the station so she ran over to meet them. The trio started the next part of their journey, Kakuzu walking between Hidan and Nozomi. She looked up at the tall male, who was holding a sack of his earnings from the bounty. “Where are we going now?”

Hidan put his hands behind his head. “To fucking kill someone, in Jashin’s name of course. I’ve been waiting on some damn free time for a while now.”

“I’ve been wondering this for quite a while now, but why are you a bounty hunter, Hidan?” The female raised an eyebrow as she looked around Kakuzu at the Jashinist.

“I’m not.” He rolled his eyes. “If I had my way, this old, money-hungry ass-backwards bastard-“ He was cut off as he jumped back to avoid a black eye. “Ha, bitch, you missed!”

Kakuzu ignored him. “We’re going back to your house.”

“Why can’t we ever do anything I fucking want?” Hidan crossed his arms. “We always have to follow your bullshit. How do you know if the bitch wants to do that?”

“Wait, why can’t you just call me by my name?” Nozomi frowned. “I don’t mind going back to Kirigakure because I still owe Kakuzu-san and it’s only right that I pay him for his services.”

“Are you satisfied now?” Kakuzu turned to Hidan.

The silver-haired male let out a huff of anger and started walking again. “Fucking hell. You don’t even know if there’s actually money there, but of course you would fucking take his side. What a load of bullshit, I tell ya,”

“What if we go back to the hot springs first? I think it would be nice to-“

“I’m not going to that pacifist shithole.”

“Since you want a say so bad, your options are Kirigakure or Yugakure.”

“I swear to Jashin, I fucking hate you.”

In the end, Nozomi got her wish and the group stopped for the night at an inn by the border of the Land of Hot Water and the sea. The mix of hot water from the spring and the slight breeze from the sea felt serene against her skin as she relaxed. Finally, she was able to see why all the tourist books said the springs were so magical. It may not have been in Yugakure, but she couldn’t complain. Her bruise was healing from her previous fight and everything just felt nice. It would’ve been nicer if her family was here to enjoy it with her.

Frowning, Nozomi got up and went to go change; she’d been soaking in the water for a while now anyway. Although things ended with her father and brother on a note she could’ve never imagined, it didn’t change the fact that she missed them and thought about them a lot. She wanted to believe that there could’ve been a way where their relationship would’ve been better.

Her room was a short walk from the springs so she started on her way. Distracted by her thoughts, Nozomi almost didn’t hear a discarded twig break behind her. Eyes widening, she pulled out a kunai from her pouch and turned around. There was nothing behind her, but as she looked from side to side, the surrounding forest started to look less and less familiar.

There was a bird sitting on a low branch in front of her and, weirdly enough, it looked as if it was staring directly at her. Out of curiosity, Nozomi cautiously moved towards it. Where did it come from? As soon as she got too close, the bird jumped and flew away, its feathers flying everywhere around her. Suddenly, it was like her consciousness shut off; she saw a flash of red, then everything went dark.

Groggily, Nozomi woke up leaning against the doorframe inside a room. She wanted to reach up to her head but it felt like her wrists were tied behind her back. Her legs felt like jelly when she tried to move so she opted to look around instead. From what she could see by the dim light of the moon and stars outside, in front of her was an empty room with stairs on the left side in front of a door and behind her was another empty room, but it all felt familiar. Was this… her home?

“You’re finally awake. You were out longer than expected - almost a full day to be exact.”

Nozomi nearly jumped out of her skin as someone spoke. Turning back around, she came face-to-face with a male in a straw hat crouching down in front of her. Through the strands, she could see part of a face that was pale blue. She’d seen skin like this before.

“Were you on a boat that was leaving Kirigakure a little while ago?”

“You have a sharp memory. I like that..” The male chuckled out of sheer amusement. “I knew I recognized your face from the paper, shrimp. You were the flighty babysitter.”

Nozomi’s eyes drifted to the male’s cloak and she automatically recognized the clouds. This was bad… Maybe he was different from the plant person, but could she afford to give him the benefit of the doubt?

“How does someone like you end up in a bingo book?” The male continued.

“A bingo book…?” She tilted her head in confusion. Was he talking about the book that Kakuzu always carried around? That meant that her picture was in the same book as the bounties Kakuzu was always going after.

“Leave her alone, Kisame. We already did our part.” Another voice spoke. From the back corner of the room, another person emerged. His voice sounded younger than the man in front of her, but he didn’t put her any more at ease.

Kisame grinned at Nozomi, showcasing his rather sharp teeth, before standing up. “You could at least let me have a little more fun. I wasn’t going to do anything to her.”

“Why did you kidnap me?” Nozomi looked between the two. “Someone’s going to come and find me.”

“And who would do that, little girl?”

Nozomi’s breath hitched in her throat as she heard the next eerily-familiar voice. Everything in her body screamed to run as a third person emerged from the ground. The yellow eyes and flytrap surrounding his body looked exactly the same as she remembered. Hurriedly, she tried to use any strength she had to inch her way as far away from him as possible.

“S-Stay back!”

“Aren’t you going to answer my question?”

She could hear her heart beating loudly out of her chest. They all had the same cloak, which means they had to all be working together. That also meant they were a part of that ‘Akatsuki’ thing she heard before. When she was brought to that unknown place, she could hear voices. She knew that she couldn’t go back on what Kakuzu promised and compromise him and his partner.

“My friends…”

“That’s what you call Kakuzu and Hidan?” Zetsu began to laugh hysterically. “There are no friends in this line of work.”

“Wait… that’s some hefty information to just leave out.” Kisame turned to Zetsu. “Don’t you think, Itachi?”

Itachi stared at Nozomi, who was showing a mix of fear and panic across her face. It was clear that she had faced, or at least seen, Zetsu before and from how easy the kidnapping had gone, she was quite defenseless. “You mentioned that she owes someone, which means you must have been referring to the treasurer.”

“No offense, but isn’t that his business?” Kisame shrugged. “I’m pretty sure getting his merchandise from her would’ve been like taking candy from a baby. She’s no shinobi.”

Abruptly, everyone got silent as the door to the room opened. In walked a male with orange hair and peculiar purple eyes, even more stoic than Kakuzu’s. His eyes connected directly with Nozomi’s and the female froze in her place.

“You all are free to leave. I would like to talk to the girl alone.”

₪•₪•₪•₪•₪•₪

Post Credits Scene: (The Night Before)

“So let me get this crap straight… I left you two alone, put my life on the line for that bullshit, and you didn’t do anything?” Hidan stood, glaring at Kakuzu, who was recounting and organizing their last reward. “For fucks sake! Did you get cockblocked or something?”

Kakuzu placed the last stack down and proceeded to store the bills in a scroll, not even once looking in his partner’s direction. “Do I ever ask you about your personal endeavors?”

“You just talk shit about them in front of my face.” The silver-haired male rolled his eyes. “Fucking dick wad.”

Ignoring him as always, Kakuzu continued what he was doing. In his mind, he was still processing what Nozomi was to him. He’d been asked before if she was more than just a servant, and in all honesty, she was. He’d grown to expect her to be by his side, as complicated as that would be for him. Now he had something to dedicate himself to besides this organization, but that idea in itself was dangerous. Now that he was thinking about her again, she should’ve been inside by now.

“Blondie must really love the water. Taking this long, she probably passed the fuck out.” Hidan yawned as he laid back on the tatami mat. “Hey, greedy old bastard, are you-” He opened one eye to where his partner was sitting, only to find the space empty. In fact, he was the only one left in the room. “Damn it, how long have I been talking to myself?”

Kakuzu stood outside the inn, looking for any sign of Nozomi. The springs were in plain view of where their room was, which was just beyond a couple of trees. Usually, he could sense the little presence she had, but there was no trace of her, which meant something was wrong. Just as he was about to disappear and find her, an annoyance rose out of the ground in front of him.

“Hello, Kakuzu-san. I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.” The vermin smiled. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes as he heard the amusement in Zetsu’s voice.

“I’m busy.”

“Obviously not busy enough.” Zetsu shrugged. “Leader-sama has another task for you to do near Sunagakure. You’ll find the dry heat to your liking, I presume?”

“Fucking Suna?” Hidan groaned as he stepped outside of the room, overhearing the conversation. “The fucker couldn’t assign anything closer?”

In an instant, Kakuzu held Zetsu off the ground by his neck. Unfortunately, he only brought his white side, which meant this one was nothing more than a clone. Nonetheless, clones still held information. “You can tell him I’m not doing anything without the girl.”

“My, my, what a grip.” The clone choked out, never losing his composure. “Fear not, Leader-sama never goes back on his word. The girl will be returned in due time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! It's Mira again!
> 
> I post all my stories cross platform on AO3 and Wattpad. Just recently, Stitched reached the 10K reads mark from my profile on Watty (it's also FallenAmor there) so I shared a drawing that I made of Nozomi and Kakuzu. I wanted to share it with you all as well just to thank you for your love and support of my story!
> 
> You can find it here on my Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/luvligrl/art/Kakuzu-and-Nozomi-864329235
> 
> Thank you again and I hope you'll continue reading!


	11. Valentine's Day! (Kakuzu x Nozomi AU One Shot)

The moon was savoring its last moments in the sky as dawn was beginning to take over. Lights flicked on in a previously dark apartment as Kakuzu prepared himself to start the day. As he turned over on the bed, his eyes opened to see the empty space next to him. The untouched space was a bit forlorn. Pushing the thoughts away in his head, he got up and left his room. The apartment was still somewhat dark as there was illumination coming from the kitchen. As he turned the corner, he was nearly ambushed by sound.

“Good morning Kakuzu-san!” His bubbly blond greeted him, dressed in her usual attire and a pink apron. Her smile was brighter than the lights, but it was a pleasant sight to see. Stifling a yawn, he murmured a ‘Good morning, Nozomi’ and sauntered over to the counter to sit down at the barstool only to be reprimanded by the female. “Aht aht, there’s no time to sit! We have to start training! I’m making breakfast so hurry up and get ready.”

Kakuzu watched as she turned her back to him to continue what she was doing. The smell from the stove drifted over to him as she started cooking omelets. Claiming a seat regardless of what she said, he rested his head against his palm. As much as he liked to see her each day, it still felt as if she was at a distance from him - a boundary that he couldn’t seem to remove. “Where did you sleep last night?”

“The couch.” Nozomi answered easily. “At first it was kind of uncomfortable, but I’ve figured out the secrets to a good night’s rest.” She picked out a plate and set it in front of him before sliding the omelet onto it from the frying pan. “But why are you asking all of a sudden? I always sleep there.”

“I’m not obligated to answer.” Kakuzu dodged the question. There was no way he could ask her to fill the empty void next to him. His line of work didn’t support such superficial ideals. And how would she even respond to that? 

“That’s not fair! You always ask me questions first but I can never ask you anything!” Nozomi huffed in annoyance as she turned back around to make breakfast for herself. “Just hurry up and eat. You always say time is money so let’s get moving.”

Kakuzu complied with her words, amused by her reaction. Once he was dressed and the kitchen was cleaned, the two headed out to their usual spot in the surrounding woodlands. Nozomi stretched her arms out as she breathed in the air and let out a long breath of satisfaction before beginning her warmup. This time, to her surprise, Kakuzu joined her, which only fueled her fire. Today was the day she was going to finally land a hit on him in their sparring practice. Of course, she had told herself this for the past two weeks now, but this time she could feel it.

“Is Hidan joining us today?” Nozomi asked once they finished warmup, placing her hands on her hips.

Kakuzu’s eyebrow twitched at the sound of his partner’s name. For some reason, he was noticing the little things and he realized that she always used honorifics when calling his name, but never when talking about the idiot. “He’s on a sabbatical.”

“Aw, that sucks…” Nozomi pouted. “I really wanted him to bear witness when I win our spar today!”

The male nearly laughed at the thought; was this why she was so enthusiastic this morning? Not wanting to hold her from her anticipation any longer, he lowered his stance and prepared for her attacks. The two sparred numerous times throughout the morning, taking breaks in between for Nozomi, before she finally conceded and laid back in the grass. The sun was fully awake in the sky, however the clouds offered some shade and a nice breeze. Tilting her head, Nozomi looked over in Kakuzu’s direction. Here she was drenched in sweat yet he looked like he barely lifted a finger.

“Ugh, my plan has been foiled.” Nozomi sighed in defeat as she closed her eyes. “I just can’t beat you.”

“Your plan?” Kakuzu asked as he opted to sit down for their break.

She nodded and opened her eyes before sitting up. “If I won, you would have to do one thing for me and you wouldn’t be allowed to refuse my request. Unfortunately, today’s the last day.”

Honestly, Kakuzu was confused. He had never agreed to any stipulations nor was he aware of her ideas. How did she know he would just willingly do any request she asked. On the other hand, what did she mean by ‘today’s the last day’? Before he could further inquire about it, she continued talking.

“Wouldn’t it be great to just be here all the time?” She asked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear as the breeze blew it in her face. She crawled closer to him before opening her arms out. “I’m talking about the trees, flowers, fresh air… I mean, the village is nice and all, but here just feels so much more, what’s the word I’m looking for… free!”

Kakuzu looked around the clearing. They could see Amegakure in the short distance, but it looked nothing like this place. The air was clearer, the sun felt warmer, and everything felt more alive. It made sense since they were surrounded by living creatures, both stagnant and dynamic. “This is where you want to be?”

“Yeah. It feels closer to home.” Nozomi tapped her chin with her pointer finger as she thought about it. Peeking out of the corner of her eye, she watched Kakuzu. The male wasn’t looking in her direction, which made this her one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Reaching for him, she straddled his waist and pinned his shoulder down with one hand while pressing her hand in a blade against his neck. As he looked up at her, she grinned victoriously. “I got you! I won!”

Seeing the sense of pride she had, Kakuzu relaxed against her hold. There were so many openings on her at this moment and so many opportunities before and during the attack for him to turn the tides, but he let it go for now. She was really excited about whatever it is that she was planning so maybe he would let her do what she pleased just this once. “Alright then. What’s your request?”

Nozomi sat back with a smile. “Valentine’s Day is a few days from now, so I want you to give me a present.” Her cheeks acquired a rosy tint as she twiddled her thumbs nervously. “I-It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture or anything! It’s just that Valentine’s Day is, well… Valentine’s Day and I’ve never gotten anything from anyone before, besides my dad and brother of course so-”

“Fine.” Kakuzu answered after mulling it over.

“-you don’t have to.... huh?” She blinked. Her eyes widened in realization once she processed what he said. “You’re serious? You won’t back out, right? I’m going to hold you to your word!”

Kakuzu sighed. “Are you ready to go? There are some errands I need to run.”

“Yes! Thank you Kakuzu-san!” Nozomi nearly squirmed with excitement. She couldn’t wait to see what kind of gift he would give her. Of course it had crossed her mind that he could’ve said no at any point in time, but she was grateful that he didn’t. 

“I can’t go anywhere if you’re sitting on me.”

Sure enough, Nozomi was still sitting on the male, straddling his waist. Recognizing the kind of position she was in, her face became beet red as she scrambled to her feet.

“Oh, sorry!”

₪•₪•₪•₪•₪•₪

Valentine’s Day came faster than Nozomi expected. Stirring in her sleep, the female opened her eyes just a crack. The room was blurry at first as her eyes adjusted, but once everything came into view, she immediately shot up and looked around. How did she get in Kakuzu’s room? Last she remembered, she fell asleep in her usual spot on the couch. First thing for sure, she definitely felt a lot better. Honestly, she couldn’t remember the last time she had slept in an actual bed. If she was in his room, that meant that this was his bed… With her face heating up, Nozomi immediately jumped up to her feet. The other side of the bed looked completely intact, so did that mean that he didn’t sleep here last night?

Walking out of the room, Nozomi looked around the dark apartment. As she flicked the lights on in the main room, she was greeted with silence. “...Kakuzu-san?”

The apartment was empty as she searched from bottom to top. Did he leave in the middle of the night or something? There was no note or anything and he didn’t tell her yesterday that he had to go anywhere. Sighing, the blond spent the morning making breakfast for herself and cleaning the apartment. Hours passed by and there was still no sign of Kakuzu. Curling up on the couch, she decided to reread one of her favorite books - a romance novel in light of the holiday, of course.

It was almost the evening time when Nozomi put down her book and sighed heavily. He could’ve at least said where he was going or tell her when he was going to come back. Pouting, she got up and made a rice omelet for dinner, packing an extra away in case Kakuzu came home and was hungry. She drew a little heart on hers before she started to eat and sulk. What if he was still trying to get her present? Or what if he didn’t know what to get her? If she had known it would’ve been too much trouble, she wouldn’t have said anything.

Kakuzu came back as Nozomi was finishing up with washing the dishes. Turning on her heels, she immediately headed over to the door to greet him, only for him to take her hand and walk her outside.

“H-Hold on! I don’t have any shoes on!” 

Once she was ready, she followed Kakuzu as they walked together. Half of her was giddy because he must be taking her somewhere nice if he was holding her hand. What if they were going to have a sunset picnic or something? She had just eaten, but she wouldn’t mind eating again. The other half of her, however, was pissed. How could he just leave all day without saying anything and the moment he comes back, he still doesn’t say anything and drags her out.

“Where have you been, Kakuzu-san? You were gone all day. You could’ve at least said something!”

“Close your eyes.”

“Here you go again! You never answer any of my questions!” Nozomi stopped as soon as they got to the forest. “I’m changing my request. All I want is for you to talk to me.” She pulled her hand of his and crossed her arms as she glared at him. “It’s like you have selective hearing and you only see me when you want to see me.and-”

“I went out to get your present.”

“Don’t talk over me! It’s my turn to talk now!” Nozomi narrowed her eyes as his words went right over her head, which only caused him to roll his eyes. “Like I said, you don’t listen to me and you never let me know what you’re thinking. I’m always trying to discover new things about you, but it’s hard when you’re always keeping me at a distance…”

Kakuzu stood beside her and let her rant as the female kept talking. Amongst her pent up frustration, there was a bit of truth behind her words. There were times where he could have said or opened up more to her. Sure, there were limits to a lot of things he could say, but she’d been close to him willingly for long enough. At least long enough to where he could try. She made him think of things that had been pushed to the depths of his mind for as long as he could remember.

“I just wish it would feel like you were beside me when you physically are.” Nozomi frowned, the anger dissipating as she dropped her arms. Honestly, she felt like she wanted to cry. She wasn’t mad at him; she was just frustrated with the whole situation. Maybe she should’ve said something before instead of holding it all in, but what was she supposed to say to the man who’s given her almost everything she has right now. Wasn’t she pushing it by asking for more when there wasn’t much she could give in the first place?

Suddenly, Kakuzu reached out to her and wiped away a tear she didn’t realize had fallen onto her cheek. He had been selfish by keeping her all this time. She was still human, regardless of how he had forgotten what that personally felt like. “I’m sorry, Nozomi.”

“Huh?” She was surprised by his sudden apology before shaking her head. “You don’t need to apologize, Kakuzu-san! I just-”

“I can’t disclose everything to you which will make it difficult to be close to you, however I don’t want to let you go.” He cut her off. This was nothing she could solve; it was all on him. Ever since his days in Takigakure, he had to sever his ties and focus on being alone as the only person he could trust was himself. He had opened up more to this woman than anyone in decades. “Are you sure that you’re prepared to be by my side?”

“Kakuzu-san… I just want to go home.” Nozomi smiled at him as she wiped away her tears. “Together, with you.”

“Then let’s go home.” He took her hand again and headed into the forest. Nozomi let him lead her, however she was confused as she looked around before looking up at him.

“This isn’t the way home...”

“I still owe you your present. Here it is.”

Nozomi furrowed her eyebrows as she thought about his words before looking in front of them. Surprised, she took a few cautious steps forward. Sitting in front of her was a small cabin amidst the trees. There was a plot of soil in front of it that she could already imagine a garden growing out of. “...What is this?”

“You said the place you felt the most free was out here, so I wanted you to be comfortable.” He answered. Even when I’m not around, he wanted to add. It was also far enough that it was protected from intruders. “It’s not finished but there’s not much left to do since most of the materials used come from the surrounding area.” 

“This is too much... Can we go inside?” Nozomi asked him. She was speechless and thankful. All of this was way more than what she could ever ask for, but she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. Did this mean that he was going to leave her here by herself?

Once Kakuzu agreed, Nozomi immediately ran inside with Kakuzu walking in behind her. The home was just the right size for her. It was bare on the inside, some of the walls weren’t finished, and there were no lights or running water, but she had already fallen in love. As she entered what would be the bedroom, there was another surprise waiting for her. In the middle of the room was a full size bed with a package of macarons lying on top.

“I have my own bed now?” She grinned as she turned back to Kakuzu. Feeling her excitement growing, she wanted to test it out so she fell back into the mattress and let out a sigh of satisfaction. Was this what heaven felt like? Sitting up, she began to take her shoes off and patted the space next to her. “Come here, Kakuzu-san!”

Sitting next to her, Kakuzu watched as Nozomi opened the pack of macarons and ate one as she laid down. This was the happiest he had seen her yet and it only made him smile beneath his mask.

“Will you lay down with me?”

Nozomi’s sudden request caught him off-guard. He focused his eyes on hers as she nervously fiddled with her fingers. Of course she was anxious about asking him for something; he wished she wasn’t. It was his fault after all. Putting so much emphasis on debt, what else could she do? Removing his mask and his head covering, he stuffed them in his pocket and laid next to her, placing the side of his head against her bosom. It was soothing, feeling the steady rise and fall of her chest accompanied by the faint thump of her heartbeat. Cautiously, Nozomi played with some strands of his hair and, once he didn’t protest, she continued until nightfall.

“Are you going to stay here with me?” Nozomi whispered quietly. “Because I don’t want you to go. I like standing by your side. I promise I won’t be impatient. However long it takes for you to open up, I can wait, even if you don’t in the end.”

“You’re free to do as you please.” Kakuzu told her after a moment of silence. “This home is yours and you can leave whenever you want. If you want me to stay, that I’ll stay and-”

“Do you want to stay?” Nozomi asked him seriously. “Oh no… You’ve given me all of this for Valentine’s Day, Kakuzu-san, and I left your present at the apartment. It wasn’t nearly as much as this but I can…”

She was quieted by the male pressing his lips against hers. It was a sweet, tender kiss, one filled with hope and security. It almost felt as if all her questions were answered in one action.

“You don’t need to get me anything.”

“Nonsense! It’s the least I can do!”

“Drop the honorifics.”

“Huh?”

“Since you’re so insistent, that can be my present. You said you wanted to be closer, so you can drop the -san you always say at the end of my name.”

Nozomi tilted her head as she looked at the male in front of her who was avoiding her eye contact. It may be because it was getting dark outside and their only source of light was the moon peeking through the trees, but this would be the exact moment where he would blush like a school boy with a crush. It almost made her want to laugh at how cheeky he was being. Leaning forward with a smile, she kissed him back.

“Thank you… Kakuzu.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! <3
> 
> ~ Mira


	12. Reparations

Intimidating. Menacing. Scary.

Nozomi could do nothing but stare at the man in front of her. Everything about him screamed dangerous and it felt like if she even attempted to look away, he would kill her on the spot. It was like her mind had drawn a blank as he stepped closer to her; what was she going to do? Seeing the others leave the room out of the corner of her eye, she silently willed for them to stay.

“Nozomi Shidou, correct?”

She didn’t even realize her throat had gone dry when she tried to respond. Nodding slowly, she let out the breath she was holding so she could answer him properly. “Y-Yes, sir…”

“I am Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki.” His deep voice filled the room as he moved closer to her. His footsteps echoed loudly in her ears, no doubt a result of her heightened senses due to the adrenaline rush she was feeling. The man squatted down in front of her and, automatically, Nozomi shrunk back and squeezed her eyes shut. She could feel his cool hands brushing against hers before the strain of her wrists suddenly lightened. He was… untying the rope?

“I would advise you not to run. I’m not going to hurt you unless you force me to.”

Cracking open one of her eyes, she peered into those of Pain’s. The rings were mesmerizing, as if he was going to put her under hypnosis or something. “How will I know you won’t?”

“It’s my word against yours.”

Once her wrists were free, she held them in front of her and rubbed the slightly bruised skin. Although Pain stood up and stepped back away from her, she didn’t try to move. “Please, sir, I really don’t know anything. I didn’t even know the Akatsuki was a group or something to that extent. I thought it was a person this whole time, I swear-”

“I’m not here for that.”

Nozomi blinked in surprise at his words. So he wasn’t going to torture her, kill her, then leave her body to rot with the maggots in the middle of the forest? Her body wanted to relax but she was far from that state. There were still too many variables. That didn’t mean that the other people who left earlier wouldn’t come back to finish the job.

“C-Can I ask why I’m here?”

Pain looked down at the little doe in front of him. It was evident that she was scared and she posed no threat. What did Kakuzu see in her that allowed her to stay so close to him? “I apologize for your previous treatment. One of your experiences has piqued my interest, so I would like to have a conversation.”

The female thought about what he said as she slowly stood up. Conversation as in just words? Maybe if she cooperated and talked to him, he could possibly answer some of the questions she had. “Okay.”

“To my understanding, you know of a jutsu that can bring back the deceased? Explain it.”

Memories rushed into her head as she thought of his request. Looking down at the floor, she clutched her shirt by her chest. Never did she think that she would have to relive those moments. Of course, she had thought about it everyday since it happened, but when she dove too deep, she would pull herself out and close the door. Speaking up, Nozomi started from the beginning and explained in as much detail as she could.

“I’m not sure if he created it or if he altered a known jutsu, but my father figured out a way to bring back the dead by placing their spirit inside a host. I don’t know about all of the ins and outs, but the preparation involved thousands of bodies of men, women, and… children. It was horrifying and disgusting...” Flashes of the scene invaded her mind as she spoke; it felt as if she was back in that crater seeing her family again for the first time in a while. “He formed a few signs and all the chakra that was trapped in the bodies was released and gathered into a ball. Once that was done, the chakra ball swallowed the host whole and after a few more hand signs, everything went dark.”

“What were the hand signs?”

Nozomi raised her hands to try and show him since she didn’t know the names but they were shaking badly. This was the first time she allowed herself to see through the whole story. Biting her lip to try and force herself to calm down, she showed the hand signs the best she could remember. Visualizing her father doing these same actions, tears began to cascade down her cheeks.

“So, the jutsu revolves around a substantial number of sacrifices…” Pain mulled over the thought, ignoring her emotions for the time being. Overall, the idea sounded very rudimentary. Seeing the state of the female in front of him, it was obvious that she was heavily involved in the process. “...and I assume that you were the intended host.”

Nozomi’s bangs shaded her eyes as she nodded silently. “My father and brother were trying to bring back my mother, and they succeeded. It was so cold and dark being there by myself. Just like that, I was replaced and honestly, I would’ve rather died. All those years, I wasn’t wanted but it’s mind blowing to realize the lengths people will go to fulfill their dreams or sick, twisted fantasies. But even now, I can’t blame them. At first, I had come to terms with my fate and… I wanted to die so badly…” Nozomi was silent for a moment, basking in the words that had so easily escaped her lips before she gasped and looked up at Pain.

“I-I’m so sorry. I went on a tangent…”

“It’s alright. You can continue.”

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Nozomi went back to the story at hand. “I’m assuming that once the jutsu is complete, the host dies too but I was still there as a spirit. I could see and hear everything, but no one could see me, besides my mother. I had to pull myself together and talk to my mother to get back in my body. My father, on the other hand, was weakening by the second and it looked like he was aging a year a minute.”

Pain was silent once she finished talking. The jutsu was unstable and most likely a rush job out of sheer impatience which resulted in its failure. There was potential, but too much research and ground work would be needed for a more developed end product. Age acceleration was an undesired consequence, but it isn't unreasonable. After all, you were defying the laws of nature.

“Thank you for the information, Ms. Shidou.”

“You aren’t going to try it, are you?” Nozomi stepped towards Pain, ignoring her earlier feelings of cautiousness. “That jutsu is very dangerous and it’s not beneficial for anyone. It only ends in suffering.” Her hands dropped to her sides as she frowned. “Contrary to popular belief, hell is a very cold place…”

“Do you act the same way with Kakuzu?”

Nozomi’s eyes widened. Looking away from Pain, she pondered her thoughts before answering him. “Kakuzu-san is the sole reason why I’m alive right now. I owe him everything and I’ll do anything in my power to make sure I don’t cause him any more trouble than I already have.”

Pain raised an eyebrow at her words. “Are you insinuating that I am troubling him?”

“N-No sir!” Nozomi immediately shook her head. “I didn’t mean it that way! I just want to stay by Kakuzu-san’s side! He means that much to me.”

“I see.”

The room became silent once more and Nozomi grimaced as she fiddled with her fingers in nervousness. She had done it now… Everything was going fine, but she just had to open her big mouth and overshare like she always did. The only thing was, everything she said was true. Kakuzu was all she had left and she didn’t want to do anything that would cause her to be all alone. Her hell, she’d been there before. It was empty and unforgiving and she wouldn’t wish it on the worst of her enemies - not even her father or brother. Despite everything, she regretted the last words she had uttered to her father, which were spoken out of sheer rage.

“We are alike in some aspects, Nozomi Shidou.” Pain started talking again.

Nozomi furrowed her brows in confusion. “...We are?”

“I would like to extend to you an invitation to become a citizen of Amegakure.” He continued. “As a civilian, you can start over, live, and grow.”

She was awestruck. He was giving her a chance to start over? Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of the aspect of having a home again. The first vision that popped in her mind was the apartment and Kakuzu. A smile tugged at the ends of her lips and she quickly bowed to Pain. “Thank you so much, sir! I’m very grateful!”

Pain nodded as she stood up straight again. “To address your previous thoughts, the Akatsuki is an organization that is created for world peace. As Kakuzu is a member, it may be hard to be by his side as you say, however citizenship in Amegakure can possibly lighten that burden.”

An organization for world peace… The words lingered in Nozomi’s mind for a moment before she pushed them aside. She was ecstatic that she could truly start over, however there was still a problem at hand. Frowning, she glanced out the window behind her at the glowing moon. “My family still owes a hefty debt to Kirigakure. I doubt they will be so willing to let me go without payment.”

“I assume you weren’t going to utilize Kakuzu as a resource.”

“There’s no way I could do that.” Nozomi shook her head sadly. “Especially after everything he’s already done for me.” Not to mention the fact that she still owed him his bounty payment too. As a thought hit her, her eyes averted from the moon to the yard. “Mr. Pain, may I ask you a favor?”

Pain watched the female intently. “What is it?”

“Can you supervise me digging in the yard? My father stashed some of his funds there and I could really use them to help pay back the debt.” She looked him the eye so he knew she was telling the truth. “I promise I won’t run away. You have my word.”

“I will hold you to it.” She wouldn’t be able to run regardless. The moment she stepped outside the property line without his permission, she would cease to exist. However, she knew that already.

Finding a shovel outside of the house, Nozomi went to work digging hole after hole.Tirelessly, she worked her way from the back of the house to one side to the front and to the other side. At some point, Pain had disappeared along with a callous Zetsu, leaving Kisame and Itachi to watch over the female with orders to return her back where they found her after she was done.

Nozomi stopped to catch her breath and leaned against her shovel as she looked at the progress she had made. The sun was starting to rise in the distance and there were randomly placed holes littering the yard. Wiping the sweat off her brow, she could feel dirt covering her body from flinging it everywhere. Where was it? Did her father lie to her? Honestly, it wouldn’t be that unbelievable considering everything that he did to her. Giving herself a little pep talk, she let out a sigh and started digging again. Maybe she would have to go through the holes again and dig deeper…

Suddenly, the clang of metal hitting metal surprised her and Nozomi let out a squeak from the shock. Dropping to her hands and knees, she laid the shovel to the side and started scooping dirt with her hands until she could see a silver box begin to appear. It took her a moment to finally uncover the entire box, which turned out to be a briefcase. There was a lock on it and groaning, Nozomi sat back on her butt.

Father’s birthday? Nope.

Hideki’s birthday? Nope.

Mom’s birthday? Nope.

Her birthday? Nope.

1-2-3-4? Absolutely not.

Nozomi rolled her eyes as she started to get frustrated. Unlike Kakuzu and Hidan, she couldn’t use brute strength to just rip it open. Tossing the briefcase to the side, Nozomi eyed the shovel and an idea popped in her head. Picking up the tool, she began to slam its head against the briefcase. She used all her strength and even put her back into it, like Hideki constantly teased her about, but it was to no avail. It was just four numbers. What was the stupid code?

Staring at the break of dawn, Nozomi held in a breath as she thought before letting it out. Maybe it was… Slowly, Nozomi picked up the slightly bent briefcase and held it in front of her. Her thumbs pushed against the dials until she entered the last digit and heard an audible click.

Of course, Mom’s death day.

Opening the briefcase, Nozomi’s eyes widened as she looked at the contents. Looks like her father’s gambling addiction was worth something after all.


End file.
